Sisters
by evaernst
Summary: Set around 3x13 in Storybrook. Zelena confronts her sister. Family fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm not a native speaker so I'm sorry about all grammar and spelling mistakes. **

**Please read and review. **

The ringing of the doorbell startled Regina. She had been sitting on the couch reading a book and enjoying a good wine. It was quite late and she didn't know who could be bothering her that late. Slowly she rose moaning quietly as she felt the blood running back into her leg making her leg feel like it was filled with a thousand ants. It took her so long to reach the front door that she was sure that whoever rang the bell would already be gone.

However that was not the case. In front of the door stood a woman Regina had never seen in Storybrook before. But that didn't have to mean anything. She still hadn't managed to gain her memories of the past year back so it was possible that she knew the woman anyway.

"Hello. Who are you? What do you want?" Regina asked with her best mayoral voice.

"Hello. My name is Zelena." The woman outside her house tilted her head to the side and looked at Regina expectantly. As if she'd hope for some sign of recognition.

"And? What do you want?" Regina tried to sound completely unimpressed but in fact she was desperately trying to remember the woman in front of her.

"I hoped that we could…talk" the red-haired woman said.

"Talk? About what? How do you know me?" The longer the conversation was going on the more nervous Regina got. Who was this woman and why was she standing on her porch that late in the evening.

"Could we maybe go inside to talk? It is hard to tell you in passing." Regina took a step back and allowed her visitor to enter. Regina did not know why she was letting a complete stranger and on top a potentially dangerous woman into her house. Hopefully this wouldn't backfire.

Regina led the woman in her study and offered her a glass of apple cider. Zelena accepted gratefully.

"So what do you want to talk about? I don't like being kept waiting. Either you tell me right now or you leave!" Regina said after five minutes of awkward silence.

Zelena cleared her throat and smiled at Regina. Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm sorry" She didn't sound as if she was sorry. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Regina bid down on her lower lips in an attempt to not give away the truth which would put her in a weaker position.

"You don't have to say anything. Of course you can't remember. But I do, because I cast the curse."

Regina took one step back from the wall. "What? Who are you?"

"I'm the wicked witch of the west"

"That's you? I thought you were green?" Regina said in a mocking tone. Zelena didn't look very amused.

"Yes, very funny. If that's the first thing you asked I've definitely overestimated you."

That made Regina stop and look at the red-haired woman angrily. "You definitely didn't. Why did you cast the curse? Is this about power? Can you only exercise power if no one can stop you because they can't remember. This is ridiculous and it almost makes me pity you. Almost."

"Stop it!" Zelena roared and furiously stood up from the couch. "This curse is not about power. It's about revenge! It is about you! I came here because I can't stand it anymore! You once again get everything although this is supposed to be a punishment for you! But you get your son and this, what do these two idiots call her, savior back! It's not fair."

Regina frowned. "About me? How can this be about me? I don't even know you!"

"Exactly, that's the problem. I'm your sister but we were never able to meet because Cora- mother- gave me away while she kept you! You! In which way are you better than me! Was it because of my skin color? That may be a little flaw for Cora but I am otherwise a perfect daughter. I would have been able to live up to her expectations! But I never got a chance in contrary to you! But now the roles are reversed. Our mother is dead and you are no longer mommie's darling-"

"I was never "mommie's darling"" Regina interrupted the other woman. She didn't even question Zelena's revelation that she was her sister. She just accepted it. It truly sounded like something her mother would have done.

"What?! What is that supposed to mean? Of course you were she always did everything to help you and to provide you with the best life possible!"

"Mother was a selfish bitch whose only concern was me gaining power. She killed my fiancé and made me marry a king who could have been my grandfather! And Rumpelstiltkin by the way only used me! He made me enact the curse so he could look for his son in this realm. I, as a person, didn't mean anything to either of them. I understand that you feel neglected and of course you have every right to feel like that but don't believe that I've been better off because that's simply not true."

Once again an uncomfortable silence settled upon them.

"So" Zelena started once more. "Does that mean that everything I've done was completely in vain because there was no reason for me to be jealous?"

Regina nodded. "Maybe it doesn't have to be in vain. You could come over for dinner tomorrow and we could talk some more…you know, getting to know each other. You're my sister after all and I could really need someone in my corner and you need someone in yours. We could be a family you know."

Zelena smiled. "I…would love that. So tomorrow?"

Regina nodded and smiled. Zelena then turned around and made her way back to the front door.

"Ah, Zelena, wait. About the curse: can you undo it? Can you give us our memories back?"

Zelena suddenly looked quite uncomfortable. "Maybe that's not a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, in Fairytale Land bad things happened. I wasn't, well, very nice to you and the townsfolk. I bet there would be a witch hunt." She laughed bitterly.

"No there won't. I won't let anything happen to you. Just break the curse and then come back. We'll figure something out."

"Thank you" Zelena said sounding completely genuine.

"You are welcome. We are family after all."


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Once Upon A Time or its characters.**

**I'm sorry for all grammar and spelling mistakes. **

**Please read and review!**

The next time Regina saw her sister was the following day when suddenly someone pounded against her door. Quickly Regina made her way over to her front door and opened it forcefully.

"Let me in, come on!" Zelena said and pushed past Regina. The brunette raised a perfect eyebrow and closed the door.

"Hello to you too. What happened?" Regina asked and followed her sister to her study where Zelena had already helped herself to a drink. She offered one to Regina too but she declined.

"Will you tell me now what's wrong?" Regina asked and frowned. Zelena sat down on the couch and leaned her head back. She sighed. Then she pulled a little vial out of her bag and placed it in front of her on the coffee table. Inside the vial there was a green liquid.

"What is that?" Regina asked and took a closer look at the vial.

"Well, you asked me to break the curse. And that's what I'm going to do." Zelena said and took the vial out of Regina's hand and pulled the cork out. Immediately an offensive smell spread in the room. Regina wrinkled her nose and opened the window. Luckily it was quite warm outside.

"So, how does this work?" Regina asked curiously.

"I have to drink this." Zelena explained. Regina looked at her sister in disgust.

"Yucky…anyway what then?"

"Then the curse will break and everybody will remember what I did to them." Zelena whispered and put her face in her hands looking truly worried. Regina sat down next to her newly discovered sister. She was unsure what to do. She didn't know this woman and therefore couldn't know what she was allowed to do and what would result in Zelena trying to strangle her.

Tentatively she put a hand on the other woman's lower back and leaned towards her.

"Don't worry. I know exactly how you feel. I don't know what you did but it can't be worse than what I've done. And I'm also still alive. Of course it wasn't easy and I had a pretty hard time. But, Zelena, you are not alone. I'll be there for you, okay? You simply have to trust me. Breaking the curse is the right thing to do."

"There's something else. It's about _him_, Rumpelstiltskin." Zelena cleared her throat. "I…locked him up."

"What?! I thought he was dead!" Regina said loudly. Zelena flinched.

"I know. You've told me back in the Enchanted Forest. I could get him back but I locked him up. I also wanted to exert revenge on him." The red-haired woman sighed.

"Did you do something to him?" Regina asked quietly. Zelena shook her head.

"I locked him up in a cellar. But I didn't hurt him. You know, I wanted to hurt him so bad! It was not fair! Why did he treat me like that! He's my mentor after all, he should respect me! He was like a father figure for me! I couldn't hurt him. The only thing I did was to threaten him."

Regina was silent for a couple of minutes then she turned to her sister, took the vial out of her hand and pulled her up from the couch. Regina pulled her sister out of her study and out of the house.

"Where are we going?" Zelena asked and frowned.

"We are going to pick up Bell, Rumpelstiltskin's true love and then we will reunite them." Regina explained and pulled the door to the passenger seat open. Zelena sat down. Regina moved over to the driver's side and started the engine. Zelena cleared her throat once more looking really uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked as she noticed the way her sister was fidgeting with her hands.

"I don't feel very comfortable in this tiny can."

"Don't worry, we are going to be fine" Regina answered and smiled quietly.

"Regina can I ask you a question? Why are we going to reunite Belle and Rumplestiltskin?" Zelena asked curiously.

"For one thing if Belle und Rumplestiltskin are reunited he might not feel the need to kill you on the spot and secondly Belle has a positive influence on him and won't let him harm you. That's going to increase our safety immensely." Regina explained and they came to a halt in front of Belle's apartment.

Together they exited the car and made their way over to Belle's front door. She lifted her fist and knocked against the door. Zelena was still fidgeting next to her.

"Stop it, Zelena!" Regina hissed and earned a light shove from her sister. In that moment the door opened and revealed Belle. She looked at the two women in front of her suspiciously.

"Hello, what do you want?"

"Belle, that now might sound strange but Rumple is alive and well."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "And I am supposed to believe that? If he would be here he would have come her already."

"I can understand your doubts but let me tell you that I am sure that he'd have first come to you if he could but unfortunately he is locked up and therefore not able to come here. But we want to free him and we want you to be there." Regina explained trying to sooth the doubts of the other brunette woman across from her.

"Why?"

"Well, Rumplestiltskin is suffering from some…mood swings and we believe that you can calm him." Zelena answered looking at Regina asking silently if the answer was appropriate. Regina nodded quickly.

"Mood swings? Who did imprison him?" Belle asked still not trusting what the two women in front of her were saying.

Zelena cleared her throat and quickly tried to change the topic.

"Maybe we should go. The earlier we can…free him the better."

Belle looked really uncomfortable. On the one hand her mind was telling her that she should not go with a witch that had imprisoned her for over twenty-eight years and a completely foreign woman who was obviously a friend of Regina's or something but on the other hand she was missing Rumple terribly. She wanted her true love back more than anything and also for Neal she wished to get his father back. She took a deep breath and without evaluating the matter further she decided to give it a try. She had to.

**Please feel free to tell me what you think! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own anything. **

**I'm sorry for all grammar and spelling mistakes, I'm not a native speaker. **

**Please read and review! If you have any ideas for future chapters or things you would like to see feel free to tell me. **

The three of them made their way over to Regina's car. Regina drove them out of town. The longer the drive took the more uncomfortable Belle felt. Where were they going? Although she deeply believed in the good inside the people Belle could not help to be worried not only for herself but for Rumple as well.

"Where are we going?"

"He is in a cellar on an abandoned farm outside of town."

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up outside of an old farmhouse. Zelena exited the car first and made her way over to a wooden fence surrounding a field and climbed over it. Regina groaned. Climbing with her new high heels was a very bad idea. Couldn't have Zelena warner her?

Belle was the second to climb over the fence and Regina followed last. The three walked towards a metal door in the ground and with a swift motion of her hands Zelena threw open the two wings of the door. Zelena stepped into the cellar and made her way down the wooden stairs. She stopped when she noticed that Belle wasn't following her.

"Well, come on! What are you waiting for?" Zelena called and tapped impatiently on the stair rail with her left hand.

"How do I know that you won't imprison me down there?" Belle asked suspiciously.

"You don't but as far as I know you believe in the good inside the people. Just trust us." Regina answered and pushed Belle gently a step forwards.

"You know that Neal will look for me if I'm nowhere to be found." Belle whispered and Regina groaned.

"We know, now come on!"

Belle expected the door to be locked immediately as soon as she had entered the door but nothing happened. She followed the red-haired woman down the stairs into the darkness when suddenly a dim lamp illuminated the room.

Belle drew in a sharp breath when she saw her true love, Rumple, sitting in a metal cage in the corner. It seemed as if he hadn't even realized the three of them entering the tiny room.

"Rumple!" Belle shrieked and ran towards the cage. Rumple turned his head slowly and moved over to the brunette woman holding out her hand for him.

"Belle!"

Suddenly the metal bonds holding Rumple captive broke loose and he could crawl outside of the cage and Belle pulled him into a tight hug. Quiet sobs wracked her body while she held his arms in a death grip. She could not be happier. She had her true love back.

It was in that moment that Rumple first became aware of the two other women in the room looking nervously at the pair. Rumple stood up slowly and motioned for Belle to stand behind him. Slowly he raised his hand and was just about the release some kind of spell to hit the two women when Belle grabbed his arm and pulled it down.

"Rumple, no!" Belle exclaimed.

"Why? Zelena held me captive like an animal! And she separated us and Regina is obviously in cahoots with her!" Rumple cried out and tried to free his hand from Belle's grip to finally attack Zelena and Regina.

"But she also brought you back! She's the reason we can now be reunited and it was them who came to me to tell me where you were bringing me here!" Belle explained. Rumple looked at her confused.

"Why? Zelena you made it quite clear that you wanted me to be part in your revenge for having been abandoned. Although I don't know what I have to do with that." Rumple said. "You were my student and nothing more."

With a swift motion Zelena turned around and fled the cellar. Regina looked worriedly.

"Let's get out of here. We can talk some more when we're back in Storybrook." Regina said and followed her sister out of the cellar. Together they marched across the field. Zelena was already sitting in the car when the others reached Regina's Benz. Quietly they drove back to the city. Regina noticed tear stains on her sister's cheeks. Discretely, Regina took Zelena's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Zelena smiled back at her gratefully.

Regina drove back to her mansion and they all settled down in her office. Zelena was already helping herself to her second glass of apple cider. Rumple and Belle sat across from the red-haired witch and Regina was standing behind the couch Zelena was sitting on and her hand resting on her sister's shoulder.

"So would you care to explain?" Rumple asked and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"What do you want to know?" Zelena asked.

"What's your plan and why did you change your mind?"

"I wanted revenge. Revenge for the life I had because mother gave me away. I cursed us all so we returned to this realm and I got rid of all your memories so no one would recognize and try to stop me." Zelena explained.

"And what does Rumple has to do with that? And how is Regina involved in all of that?" Belle asked.

"Well, Rumple was my teacher just like he was Regina's. I was angry because he made Regina enact the curse and it made me feel like I was not as important to him. Especially, to me, he was always some kind of fatherly figure. So I was really jealous. And about Regina…well, Regina is my sister and I was jealous because Cora gave me away but kept her. I grew up all alone and the older I grew the more angry I got which has led me to become the Wicked Witch and enacting my plan in revenge."

"Regina is your sister?!" Belle asked.

Regina and Zelena only nodded.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Rumple asked.

"I've made a potion that is able to break the curse. And that's what's going to happen, I'm going to break the curse. I promised to Regina." Zelena answered.

"So Regina was the reason you changed your mind about your plan?" Belle asked curiously. She was not afraid of either woman. It was the first time that she saw Regina as simply a human being and not as a cold hearted bitch and also Zelena seemed not very dangerous but rather quite tired and desperate for love.

"Yes, I came here to talk to her because I couldn't take it anymore that she seemed to get her happy ending back although this was supposed to be a punishment but she made me realize that there was nothing for me to be jealous about. She offered me an alternative. She said we could be a family but therefore I need to break the curse and that's what I'm going to do." Zelena continued.

"Aw" made Belle and tilted her head to the side. Zelena raised an eyebrow questionably.

"I mean it's a real fairytale! You can get your happily ever after. That's great." Belle explained. Zelena smiled and nodded.

"I guess you want me on your side then?" Rumple was still suspicious and did not trust the two women.

"You can do whatever you want but we wanted to prevent you exerting revenge immediately." Regina explained.

"He won't" Belle answered quickly.

"I won't?" Rumple asked surprised.

"No you won't because although she's imprisoned you she also freed you on her own account. She's willing to change and we won't take her chance at a family away from her. You can do whatever you want as long as you don't act against them. You owe them." Belle said to her true love. One could see that Rumple was not amused but he agreed with a quick nod.

"Then, let's do this. Let's break the curse."


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own anything. **

**I'm sorry for all grammar and spelling mistakes. **

**Please read and review!**

Zelena picked up the vial with the green liquid in it and pulled out the cork once more. Immediately the room was filled with the disgusting smell again and Regina opened the window once more.

Zelena took a deep breath and took a first mouthful of the potion. She grimaced. Yucky.

Suddenly everything was quiet. Even the birds that had been singing in front of the window only a couple of seconds ago had stopped.

"Did it work?" Belle asked. No one answered. Regina made her way over to the window and looked outside.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked.

Suddenly Regina turned around and answered. "Everything is fine, it worked"

Just in that moment the green smoke filled the room. For several seconds everything around them was green and then as fast as it came the smoke was gone. The room looked just like a couple of minutes before except of the people in it that all looked a bit disheveled.

Slowly Zelena stood up and distanced herself from the others.

It took a couple of minutes until the two other women who had to work through a year of lost memories were done. Then they both looked up at Zelena. The red-haired woman smiled nervously.

"Shall I go? I mean I could go if you want me to. I would truly understand if you didn't want me to be here anymore. I get it, really!" Zelena stutter and moved towards the door. She just wanted to get away from the three people that looked daggers at her.

"No, wait!" Regina called and Zelena stopped right in front of the door. She slowly turned around.

"Yes?"

"Don't go." Regina said and walked towards her sister. Zelena was sure that she was going to hit her and heaven knows she truly deserved it. She closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for a physical attack. But Regina didn't hit her, actually quite the opposite. Regina flung her arms around Zelena's neck and pulled her in a tight hug.

Abruptly, Zelena opened her eyes. She couldn't believe what was happening. As soon as she had overcome the first shock about this unexpected development she hugged her sister back. It was astonishing that although Regina had barely known her for two days she welcomed her with literally open arms and even after she regained her memories she accepted her. For Zelena this was a proof of Regina's big heart and that if not too many people had done her wrong in the past she would probably be the most kind-hearted woman in all the realms.

Regina felt tears welling up in her eyes. In the last couple of minutes she had seen the things that had happened during the last year. Before her inner eye she had seen all the fighting between her and her sister during that year, could hear all the bad words that had been said during their heated arguments and feel all the unspoken feelings breaking their hearts.

It had never crossed Regina's mind that there was a possibility that they truly could become a family but this curse gave her this chance. It also reunited her with her son. She could never be angry at Zelena.

Tears were also running down Zelena's cheeks. Back in Oz she had never cried. She had forbidden herself to cry but being reunited with her little sister changed everything. It changed her into an emotional wreck. But a happy emotional wreck. She leaned her head against Regina's shoulder. For the first time in her life she knew that she could count on someone.

"I won't leave you alone." Regina whispered as if she'd read Zelena's thoughts.

Slowly Regina drew back and one last time patted her sister's back. Quickly Zelena brushed her tears from the corners of her eyes and blinked several time until her blue eyes didn't glisten from unshed tears anymore.

Suddenly they realized once more that they were not alone in the room. Rumple and Belle looked at them in two different ways. Rumple looked more confused still not completely understanding the emotions between them but Belle looked at them a bit surprised but in a happy way. She truly seemed to like the idea of them forming a family.

Rumple stood up with a swift motion and offered Belle his hand.

"I would like to go now." He declared. "You don't have to worry about me; I'll not pose a threat to you."

With these words he and Belle left the room leaving the two sisters alone. Regina exhaled slowly.

"So what are we going to do now?" Zelena asked.

"Now we are going to wait. Now everyone remembers what happened and sooner rather than later when they can't find you they will come knocking at my door, they always do. Then we will see what happens." Regina explained. "But first of all I suggest that we go to sleep. It was a long day and we have several exhausting days in ahead of us."

Zelena nodded. She was a little unsure of what that meant for her. Was she allowed to sleep here? As if Regina had read her thoughts once more Regina motioned for Zelena to follow her. She gave her sister a quick tour of the house and prepared a guest bedroom for her.

"Thank you." Zelena said when Regina gave her a silken pajama.

"You are welcome." Regina smiled back feeling happier than she'd ever felt in the last two years.

Both women fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own anything.**

**I would like to thank everybody who reviewed or put this story on his or her favorite/ alert list. **

**To the question if in this story Emma and Regina are together I would like to say that it will mainly focus on the relationship between Zelena and Regina but I would like to also include some SwanQueen-elements.**

**Please keep on reading and reviewing!**

It was in the middle of the night when Zelena woke up. In the first moment she didn't know what woke her up but then she heard suppressed sobs echoing in the hallway. Zelena frowned and stood up. Cautiously she made her way down the hallway and stopped in front of her sister's bedroom. Carefully she pushed the door open and peeked inside but the bed was empty. Quietly Zelena tiptoed down towards the end of the hallway towards the only room that Regina hadn't shown her. Now unlike before the door wasn't closed so she was able to peek inside. It was obviously Henry's room.

Zelena knocked quietly on the door and immediately Regina tried to muffle her sobs even more but she failed to do so.

"Regina?" Zelena asked carefully. "May I come in?"

Regina didn't say anything and Zelena took that as a yes. Slowly she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. The room was dark. The only light came from the moon shining through the window and illuminated the room partly. Zelena walked over to the bed in which Regina was lying. Actually Regina was much too big for the tiny bed but obviously she didn't care.

Zelena sat down next to Regina on the bed. The other woman faced the wall and didn't bother to turn around. Carefully Zelena placed her hand on Regina's shoulder.

"Hey" she whispered. "Do you want to talk?"

Regina answered with a quick shake of her head. "Okay, then I am going to lie down next to you and if you want to talk you just do so okay?"

Without waiting for an answer this time Zelena laid down next to Regina under the blanket and pulled the other woman into her arms. It took about an hour for Regina to finally stop crying. In all that time Zelena did not once loosen her tight hug.

"It's Henry's room." Regina whispered quietly. If Zelena hadn't been so close to the brunette she possibly wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"I know" Zelena answered just as quiet as if not to startle the finally calmed witch. "You missed him terribly, don't you?"

Regina nodded and started crying once more. "Until yesterday I couldn't remember the last year, all the time that I've been separated from Henry. I missed him so much."

"Do you remember the first time we met? I was right when I guessed that life's got you down, right? But Regina, Henry is back and you will see him again and you and Miss Swan will work out an appropriate agreement." Zelena answered and rubbed soothing circles on Regina's back.

"I really hope so." Regina sobbed. She quickly turned around and buried her face in the crook of Zelena's neck.

"Shhh" the red-haired woman whispered while she let Regina cry on her shoulder.

"Can I be honest with you?" Regina suddenly asked and drew back a little.

"Of course, dear."

"I promised you I would support and protect you and I stick to that promise but I'm worried anyway. Not about my life per se but I'm worried for my relationship with Henry. I know that I first have to find a way to restore his memories as well but when he remembers he might think that I stopped trying to redeem myself. He will think I broke my promise not to use magic…I don't want to lose him." The last part was said in an almost whining tone.

Zelena felt guilty. While the original purpose of the curse had been to actually hurt Regina she (luckily) had not been successful in that matter but now that Regina tried to help her and they tried to strengthen a family bond between them it might actually result in her sister getting hurt. It was simply unfair.

"Regina, I'm so sorry. I know that I enacted the curse primarily to hurt you but now I don't want to hurt you anymore. I promise that I will do everything in my power to prevent you from losing your son. I promise."

"Zelena, I don't blame you. After all I've done the same a long time ago. But thank you for your promise anyway." A small smile graced Regina's lips. Then she rested her head on her sister's shoulder once more.

"You know, I am very happy to have you at my side. Back in Oz or Fairytale Land I did not once considered that you were in some way worse off than I've been and that we could become a family. But I'm as happy as I've ever been in my whole life."

"I'm happy that you are here too. I've lost so many family members in the past…did you know that I killed my father to cast the curse? He was the thing I loved most and therefore I had to sacrifice him. I killed my own father. Sometimes I don't understand how I can live with the knowledge of how much pain I caused. For a very long time the only good thing in my life was Henry and although the curse is broken he still doesn't even recognize me. I first have to find a way to restore his memories just like Emma's have been restored."

"But you are not the Evil Queen anymore, no, you are simply Regina. The Evil Queen would never allow herself to cry in my arms. She also would never be able to love a child in the way you do. Regina you are a good mother and once we find a way to restore Henry's memories as well he will remember that. I'm sure of that."

For a couple of minutes neither woman spoke. They simply enjoyed each other's company. Suddenly Zelena broke the silence.

"Regina, what do you think will happen in the morning?" A slight trace of fear could be detected in her voice.

"Well, speaking from experience I would say that there will be a mob pounding at my door. They will demand that I send you out so they can lynch you but don't worry there's no chance that I'll follow their instructions." Regina explained and closed her eyes. "But first of all I suggest that we try to get some more sleep."

Zelena nodded and was just about to stand up and go back to her own bed when Regina grabbed her hand. "Will you stay with me?"

"Always."


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own anything.**

**Thank you for everyone who took the time to review or favorite this story!**

**Please read and review!**

The next morning started exactly as Regina had predicted the night before. When the people of Storybrook woke up and finally remembered the lost year and who was responsible for their misery they were turning the whole town upside down to find the wicked witch.

The thought that Regina was involved in all of that hadn't yet crossed their minds so they were not aware of the fact that Regina and Zelena were still sleeping in Henry's bed in his old room. Surprisingly not the chaos on the streets woke them up but the sun shining through the window. It was a beautiful morning.

Regina was the first one to open her eyes. Quickly she realized that she was not alone and she looked over to her sister who still held her in her arms. She had kept her promise not to leave her. This was a good start and today she would also keep her promise to her sister to support her.

"Hey" she whispered into her sister's ear and shook her gently.

"No" Zelena groaned and tried to turn around which only resulting in her falling out of the tiny bed. "Ouch!"

Regina laughed out loudly. Then she reached out to help Zelena back up. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Regina, and you can stop smiling now. This was not funny." Zelena said pretending to be annoyed.

Regina decided to play along. "Oh, your highness, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Haha" Zelena answered and pulled the blanket from the bed. Regina whined due to the loss of the pleasant heat under the blanket.

"What? I thought you wanted me to stand up?" Zelena said and then offered her hand to Regina to help her up. Regina accepted gratefully.

In less than one hour the two of them were ready for the day. Actually just in time to respond to someone pounding against the door as if he wanted to tear it down. As Regina opened the door (Zelena was watching from the study) it was no surprise to see that Leroy was the first to confront the former Evil Queen. Although no one could possibly know that the Wicked Witch of the West was the Evil Queen's sister because she hadn't told a soul back in the Enchanted Forest the townspeople did notice the constant conflict between the two of them. It was only natural for them to come to her for information.

Regina stepped out on the porch.

Leroy was not alone. It seemed like the whole town had gathered in her front yard.

'Like last time' Regina thought.

"What do you want?" She asked giving her best impression of the Evil Queen which still was only a shadow of the former almighty Queen.

"Where is she?" Leroy asked sounding even more aggressive than on normal days.

"Who?" Regina asked and raised an eyebrow.

"The wicked witch." Dr. Whale stormed forward. His eyes were sparkling angrily.

"Why do you think she would be here?" Regina answered calmly. In her head she was deliberating whether it would be a good idea to tell the plain truth or if it would be better to lie and maybe win some time.

"We cannot find her anywhere and she's a witch and you are a witch…" Leroy started. Regina rolled her eyes. Typical. She decided not to comment on that.

"May I ask what you intend to do with her if you would manage to arrest her? Or don't you plan to arrest her at all and this is simply a witch hunt like in good old times?" Regina asked mockingly.

If looks could kill Leroy's look would have killed Regina instantly.

"What are you hiding? Is she with you? I should have known. It truly seems like old habits die hard." Leroy scoffed. Regina could almost feel her blood boiling from anger. How dared he?!

"What are you implying? Do you now blame me?" Regina asked with a voice as cold as ice. Slowly the mob crept closer and closer. Unconsciously, she stepped a step back causing her back to collide with a white column.

"I don't know, your Majesty. There might be ways to make you talk." Whale said and tried to grab her arm but with a swift motion of her hand she threw him across her yard. This caused the people to murmur angrily but still they were not able to gather enough courage to attack her.

"Are you threatening me? How dare you?" Regina hissed. She took one step towards the people in her front yard. "I did not enact the curse. This was not my fault."

"This might be true but who can guarantee us that you don't work together with the Wicked Witch." Leroy answered. Dr. Whale who had picked himself up again had obviously learned his lesson. He remained in the background.

Now the time had come to make a decision. There was no way that Regina would betray the trust Zelena had in her by revealing her to the public but on the other hand lying to the people might backfire as well.

Obviously Regina had taken too long considering her options because Leroy suddenly had a knowing but also angry facial expression.

"So it's true. You know who enacted the curse and you cover up for that person. I knew it, you can't be trusted. You are incapable of change! You will always be the Evil Queen!"

Regina swallowed audibly. This was getting out of control.

Suddenly Dr. Whale stepped forward again. "Maybe we should take Regina with us. There is a high chance that the Wicked Witch will come looking for her."

"Get her!" Leroy screamed and the people stormed towards her.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters.**

**Thanks for all the feedback and also constructive criticism. I appreciate it very much!**

**Please read and review!**

"Not so fast!" Zelena stepped out of the front door and walked over to Regina. "You will not take her anywhere. She has nothing to do with this."

Regina looked at her in shock. This was not how this was planned. She would have been able to handle the situation! Why did her sister come out and endanger herself! As if Zelena could read Regina's mind she placed a reassuring hand on her sister's shoulder.

'Because she cares about you and she wants to protect you' Regina thought and a small smile graced her lips. This thought was able to cheer her up at least a little bit.

The townspeople looked at the two women in shock as well. They were also completely surprised by this sudden development.

Suddenly the Charmings and Emma broke through the crowd and stopped right in the middle between the townspeople and the two sisters.

"So you are the Wicked Witch?" Emma asked. Zelena nodded.

"I can't believe this. You told me were a midwife! I trusted you!" Snow said sounding more disappointed than angry. It almost broke Zelena's heart. Although originally Snow and David were also only means to get her revenge she actually had gotten quite fond of them. In fact she had gotten quite fond of a lot of people in the last two weeks. It was so unlike her on the one hand but so welcome on the other. She could have had real friends and family. Hopefully after the chaos would be dissolved she would still have a chance at that.

"I know and I am sorry. You might not believe me but I am sorry for posing a threat to you. You can punish me however you see fit as long as you leave my sister alone. She has nothing to do with this." Zelena answered. "However, I want you to know that back in Oz I was a midwife. When I still was a young woman, barely in my twenties, I've learned this profession. I loved my work but I wanted revenge."

"Wait, your sister?!" Emma was completely taken aback.

"Regina you never told us that she was your sister!" Snow said loudly. This explained a lot of Regina's strange behavior back in Fairytale Land. She had never wanted to talk about the Wicked Witch.

"Yes, Zelena is my sister. She told me only two days ago. I want to be honest she enacted the curse to seek revenge but she is not a bad person. She's had a tough life and all she needs is a chance. She was the one to break the curse and I won't allow anyone to hurt her." Regina explained and stepped in front of her sister protectively.

"So we are just supposed to leave you alone and forget about the fact that she once more cursed us! This won't be happening, sister!" Leroy hissed and pointed at the two women with his index finger.

"What do you suggest?" Charming asked.

"Take them captive. Both of them."

"No, we can't imprison them both. At least Regina is innocent." Emma said and shook her head in disagreement.

"But if we arrest the Wicked Witch the Queen is for sure going to try to free her!" Dr. Whale answered to that. The townspeople watch the discussion in awe.

"Regina will do no such thing-" Zelena started but was interrupted by her sister.

"But-"

"No, Regina, it's okay. I have to stand by what I did and I have to be punished for that. It's okay." Zelena explained and pulled Regina into a hug.

"But I don't want you to go. You promised you'd stay with me." Regina said in a whining tone.

"Regina, I won't leave. As far as I know you can visit me and they won't imprison me forever." Slowly Zelena drew back and placed a quick kiss on Regina's forehead before she walked over towards the Charmings extended her hands as if to give them the possibility to handcuff her.

"I think there is now need for handcuffs." Emma said and guided the witch over to the police cruiser. Quickly Regina put herself together and ran after Emma.

"Emma, wait!"

"Yes?" Emma asked and tilted her head to the side.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"Well, we are going to bring her to the station and lock her up in a cell but don't worry. I promise that she will not be harmed." Emma said reassuringly.

Regina nodded slowly. "Please remember, she's a good person. Take good care of her. When can I visit her?"

"Tomorrow. You can come over tomorrow." Emma said. Then she smiled one last time and climbed into the car and drove off.

"Okay" Regina whispered and waved to her sister one last time and then turned around. She passed the crowd and marched into her house. As soon as she had closed the door she leaned heavily against it. Slowly she sank to the ground and started sobbing. Once more everything seemed to fall apart. Her sister was gone. They had taken Zelena from her. Although they had spent most of their time in Fairytale Land fighting and in Storybrook they had only met two days ago she already missed her sister terribly. She almost dared to say she loved her sister. And now she was gone. She just wanted her back.

Just as the following night she cried herself to sleep but unlike last night there was no one there to comfort her. It was a lonely night.


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own anything.**

**I'm sorry for all grammar and spelling mistakes!**

**Please continue to read and review!**

The first thing Regina did in the morning was to walk into Granny's diner and there she bought breakfast for herself and her sister. Then she made her way over to the sheriff station.

Cautiously she entered. The first thing she saw was her sister lying on a cot in the corner of a cell. She appeared to be sleeping. Then she became aware of Emma sitting at her desk looking at Regina expectantly.

"Good morning" Regina said and smiled at Emma.

"morning" Emma said and stood up.

"I brought breakfast for my sister and myself. Is that okay?" Regina asked and Emma nodded.

"I guess there is no need for me to check the bag. I guess, there would be more effective ways for a witch to free another witch than a hidden nail fail." Emma laughed.

"How is she?" Regina asked with a glance at Zelena's sleeping form.

"She was very quiet. I mean she answered all our questions but nothing more. I think she missed you." Emma answered.

"Could you maybe leave us alone for a couple of minutes?" Regina asked. Emma looked uncomfortable.

"Don't worry I won't try to free her. This is not the way." Regina continued. Emma sighed.

"Alright you know I desperately need a coffee. I will go to Granny's and you can stay here. But I won't let you inside the cell, okay?" Regina smiled at the blonde thankfully. Then Emma left.

Carefully Regina moved over to the bars of the cell. "Hey, Zelena, wake up!" Zelena stirred. "Come on, Zelena, it's me Regina."

Abruptly, Zelena opened her eyes at sat up. As soon as she saw her sister she beamed at her. "Good morning, dear."

"Good morning. I brought breakfast, I hope you are hungry."

"Very" Zelena answered and sat down on the floor across from her sister. Actually both felt that this situation should be more than awkward but reality was quite different. They actually had quite a nice time talking and eating. Zelena told her sister about her first night in prison purposely leaving out how lonely she had felt and Regina told her sister about her time alone in the mansion leaving out how she had cried herself to sleep.

Half an hour later Emma returned. She sat down behind her desk and started to work on her paper work. Regina and Zelena were still talking and from time to time laughing wholeheartedly. To Emma it was a mystery how two women that were individually as dangerous as one could possibly imagine could be that friendly and kind when they were together.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when her phone rang. Zelena and Regina looked up at her questionably. Emma only shrugged and picked up the phone. It was probably one of the shortest calls in history of mankind and before the two witches could ask what had happened Emma had grabbed her gun and her red leather jacket and ran out of the station.

"What was that?" Zelena asked surprised. Regina only shrugged.

"I don't know. But it seemed quite serious. Good thing is we have witness that whatever happened it wasn't us." Regina said and bit into a red apple. She offered one to her sister too who only shook her head.

"No, thanks, I don't really like apples."

Regina stopped chewing. Her left cheek was puffed out and she looked at her sister in fake shock.

"What?! How can you not like apples." Now it was Zelena's time to shrug.

"I don't know, I just prefer bananas."

"And you are sure that you are my sister? How can one not like apples?!" Regina asked with a broad grin. So the next half an hour was spent in a heated discussion about various types of fruits. Quickly, Emma and the worrying call had been forgotten.

It was an hour later when a frazzled looking Emma returned to the station. Before she could answer the curious questions of the two witches waiting for her she had to catch her breath first.

"I don't have much time to explain. We have to find a murderer. One of the dwarfs was killed outside town near the border…his heart was ripped out and crushed to dust." Emma explained with an unusual seriousness.

"His heart was ripped out? But who else apart from us is capable of doing something like that?" Regina asked and hissed quietly as Zelena stepped on her foot to silence her.

"Sorry" Zelena mumbled and glared at Regina. Then Regina understood. There was only one other person with magic abilities that could possibly be willing to commit such a crime. Rumplestiltskin. The only problem was that obviously the two of them were the only people in this town knowing of Rumple's return from the dead. He had remained hidden from the public the last couple of days probably to gain back his strength and mental health.

"I see" Regina said. "And what's going to be your next move, to find the person who did this, I mean?"

"Well, we don't have a clue who could be responsible for that because you've been here and Gold is gone. So that leaves us just one option: normal police work." Emma said and grabbed her stuff once more and was just about to leave the office when she turned around once more.

"You don't happen to know something, do you?"

Regina and Zelena looked at each other. Zelena looked at Regina warningly.

"No we don't, but if we hear something concerning the murder we are going to tell you." Unseen by Emma Zelena crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Okay, I count on you. We are fighting on the same side now after all." With these words Emma left the office. Regina exhaled slowly.

"So what now? Why didn't we tell Emma about Rumplestiltskin?" Regina asked.

"Regina, we don't know what is going on here. Why should Rumple kill this dwarf, that doesn't make any sense. No, my gut feeling tells me that there's more behind all of that, Regina." Zelena answered.

"Well, when I've learned one thing in the last couple of weeks it's to trust one's gut feeling" Regina answered and remembered Emma telling her about her gut feeling concerning Henry's (or Pan in Henry's body's) strange behavior.

"You know what, I think I'll go and visit Gold anyway. Maybe he knows something." Regina answered and hugged her sister good bye as well as possible through the bars of the cell.


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own anything.**

**Please read and review!**

Regina left the station and made her way over to her car. She started the engine and drove to Gold's apartment. Chances were higher that he was there than at Belle's apartment. And she was right. Gold was home but he was not happy to see her standing in front of his door.

"What do you want? I told you that I would claim a neutral role in this matter. Zelena brought me back but she also imprisoned me."

"Rumple, I know. I just want to ask you some question on an…incident that happened earlier today." Regina said. Gold sighed and stepped back so Regina could enter. He led her to his kitchen and offered her something to drink. She declined.

"One of the dwarfs was killed near the town line. His heart had been torn out and crushed." Regina explained and watched Rumpelstiltskin closely but just as her sister had expected he did not seem to know anything. Granted, he could be lying but Zelena was right why should Gold kill the dwarf?

"Unfortunately I happen to know nothing about this murder. Just out of curiosity why are you here and not Miss Swan? Are they not suspecting you to be the culprit?"

"This is none of your business. So if you don't know anything and it was neither me nor Zelena the question is: who was it? I mean there are several people in this town with magic abilities but there is no one among to them who either had a motive or the general willingness to take a life." Regina did not speak to Rumple but rather seemed to be thinking aloud.

"May I interrupt you for a moment, you might want to consider that we have an intruder in town." Rumple stated and Regina looked at him in disbelieve.

"Well, thank you for this obvious conclusion."

In that moment Belle entered the room. She looked surprised but caught herself quickly. She smiled at Regina.

"Regina, what a pleasure! What brings you here?"

"She came to seek information on an intruder in town but unfortunately I can't help." Rumpelstiltskin answered in Regina's place. Regina nodded in confirmation.

"An intruder you say? Is this intruder dangerous?" Belle asked suddenly sounding quite nervous. Rumple and Regina shared a confused glance.

"You don't have to worry, dear. No one will harm you." Rumple answered.

"No, that's not it. I remember that a couple of days ago, actually one day before we were reunited I found this lying in front of our front door." Belle said and showed the other two a red and white mask. It was attached to a long nicely shaped stick.

"Belle, why didn't you tell me?" Rumple asked and took the mask out of Belle's hand. He immediately could feel the magic radiating from it. Whoever had owned the mask had to be a powerful witch.

"Do you have any idea who could have placed in front of your door?" Regina asked without giving Belle a chance to answer Rumpelstiltskin's question. Then both Rumpelstiltskin and Belle shook their heads. It had literally appeared out of nowhere. The next couple of minutes were spent in silence due to the fact that everyone was trying to find an answer to the question who put the mask in front of Belle and Rumpelstiltskin's door.

"You know, I can't shake the feeling that I know this mask. Everything about it seems familiar." Regina sighed. Then she pulled out her phone and took a quick picture that she could show her sister and ask her whether she recognized it.

"Anyway, I'm quite sure whoever left the mask behind also committed the murder. And he or she wants us to find out who she or he is, the only question is why." Rumple said slowly and frowned.

"I'm sure we are overlooking something very obvious." Belle said. "I mean what we have got is a red and white mask and crushed heart."

"To me, this sounds very much like my mother, but this cannot be possible, I mean she is dead." Regina said looking at Rumple as if she was hoping for a confirmation of the fact that her mother was truly gone.

"Well, so was I."

At the station Zelena was sitting on her cot and staring at the tiny black box in hand. Her sister had called this device a mobile phone. To her it looked quite strange and not useful at all. Zelena had seen her sister use it once and just like her the red-haired witch held it to her ear and expected for something to happen.

"You know, you're holding it upside down." Zelena's head shot up and her eyes immediately focused on Snow who was standing right behind the bars. The witch was sure that Snow would have stood even closer to the bars if her heavily pregnant form would not limited her in that matter.

"Hello, Snow." Zelena said and smiled at the other woman.

"Hello" Snow sounded quite uncomfortable. Zelena raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected any visitors.

"So what can I do for you?"

"Why did you do it? Why did you let it happen?" Snow asked.

"Maybe you want to have a seat and then you can explain what you want from me once more." Zelena said and pointed at the chair behind Emma's desk. For a second Snow considered the demand and in the end wheeled the chair over to the bars.

"I want to know why you broke the curse. Why did you simply destroy everything you have worked for? Your plan could have played out just the way you wanted it! So why break the curse?" Snow asked curiously bending forward as best as she could.

Zelena took a minute to think. "I finally saw another way. I confronted my sister at her home because I couldn't wait anymore to get my revenge and from one second to the other Regina offered me an opportunity. She was willing to accept me into the family. Me! I've never had something like that in my whole life. And I made a decision in favor of family."

"So just from one second to the other you redeemed yourself?"

"I don't consider myself as redeemed, no I've got a long way to go but why breaking the curse and being reunited with my sister I made a step into the right direction." Zelena answered and fidgeted with her hands.

"And we are simply supposed to believe that? You know, I trusted you so much I even wanted to ask you if you could be my midwife! I really like or liked you, I don't know!" Snow cried out. She was more outraged than Zelena had ever seen her not even in the year back in Fairytale Land.

"I know, Snow, and I cannot even tell you how sorry I am and I just want you to know that if you change your mind I would feel more than honored to be your midwife." Zelena said quietly and took a step towards the bars.

"I don't know, Zelena. I'll think about it. Until we see each other again I hope that you follow your path of redemption because I think Regina is right: you are a good person." With these words Snow turned around and left the station.


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own anything. **

**Please read and review!**

Regina had visited her sister and had brought dinner for herself and Zelena. She then had to leave but not without the promise to return in the morning. The thought alone that Cora could just like Rumple have returned or have been returned from the dead somehow was unsettling her immensely. Regina had chosen not to tell Zelena about this possibility right now because she didn't know how Zelena would react. She seemed to be determined to follow the path of redemption and become a constructive member of society but the prospect of getting revenge on Cora might change her mind. So Regina didn't want to take any chances.

Regina drove to the cemetery. With hasty steps she almost ran towards her crypt. She had to check that her mother was still there. She slammed the door open and stumbled down the steps. Just like Daniel her mother had a beautifully decorated coffin. Regina had preserved her mother's corpse with a spell. The brunette took a deep breath and pushed the coffin lid to the side. Cora was gone. Regina turned around and ran outside the crypt calling Rumpelstiltskin to inform him of her discovery. Then she left the cemetery and drove to her mansion to get Cora's book of spells. She probably would need it. She decided to put up several protection spells. Just to be sure. Actually several seconds before her mother had passed away Regina had been sure that the era of the malicious Queen of Hearts was over and she would simply be Cora but now that the dwarf's heart had been crushed she wasn't so sure about that anymore. Anyway it was a good idea to take preventive protection measures.

Meanwhile in the station Emma was doing paperwork and Zelena was daydreaming on her cot. Once or twice she had tried to start a conversation but Emma was obviously not interested in a conversation at the moment. Anyway Zelena did not have the feeling that Emma had something against her.

It was already past eight in the evening when Henry entered the station. Zelena sat up and looked at the boy curiously. So, he was Regina's son, the boy she has been crying over night after night. The young boy returned her curious glances and stepped a step closer.

"Hi" he then said and smiled at her.

"Hello, young man. I bet you are Henry, right?" Zelena said. Emma stood up and walked over to Henry protectively as if she wanted to protect him from the truth that she might spill. Zelena on the other hand had no intention at to tell the kid something he would not believe anyway. She just wanted to get to know him.

"Yeah, how do you know?" Henry asked sounding a bit suspicious. Zelena smiled. She recognized so much of Regina in the way he talked and behaved, it was astonishing.

"Well, Regina, the mayor and my sister, told me about you. She is very impressed how an eleven year old boy can be that grown up." Zelena said. Henry seemed to buy this semi-true story.

"Yeah, she seems quite nice. I like her." Henry said and Zelena only smiled as an answer. "So, why are you in that cell. What did you do?"

Zelena suddenly was at a loss of answers. Quickly, Emma gave an answer to his question. "Nothing serious, don't worry about it. She will be free in no time."

"Oh I bet Miss Mills will be glad when you are out of prison again." Henry said. Zelena nodded.

"Yes, and so will I, you know, Henry, there are so many things I would like to do. I moved only recently to Storybrook and I did not yet had the chance to uncover all mysteries of this town. Maybe you could join me someday." Henry's eyes were shining brightly at the prospect of going on an adventure.

"We will see." Emma said quickly and guided Henry out of the station. Before the door shut Zelena could hear an astonished Henry state: "It's strange, a lot of people seem to be or have been in prison in this town."

The night passed without any disturbances and the day that followed was so beautiful it almost could make everybody forget that there was a person out there that was threatening the town. So with an inappropriate good mood Regina entered the station. Zelena was already awake and Emma was not there at the moment.

"Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?" Regina asked and Zelena sighed. She on the other hand was not in a good mood.

"Well, I've slept better before. I finally want to get out of here. Or in a bigger cell with more privacy." Zelena said without looking at Regina.

"Hey, I know that it's not the most comfortable arrangement but I'm sure we can agree on a compromise with the Charmings." Regina said and to calm her sister she gave her the food she had prepared for her.

"What is this? It tastes awful." Zelena said after taking the first bite. Regina looked hurt.

"It's an omelet and I'm sorry if you don't like it. It's been a long time since I last made one."

"Maybe then you should stick to the few things you actually are able to accomplish." Now Zelena was simply mean to let out some steam and both knew it but it hurt Regina's feelings nonetheless. She swallowed a snarky comment to give Zelena no more reason to get angry at her.

"There's something I need to tell you." Regina changed the subject. Probably it was the worst time to tell Zelena about their mother but she had to be prepared just in case. Zelena didn't even look up as she ate (although she had claimed the food to be awful she had already eaten half of it).

"What?"

"Do you remember about the murder? It might be possible that Cora, our mother, is behind all of this."

**I know that Zelena's being simply mean in the end and it's quite a contrast to her behavior in the previous chapters but I thought that she cannot change her temperament from one day to the other. I personally believe that she also has the wish to be free and happy and is after several days in a cell quite frustrated (apart from the fact that everybody has a bad day once in a while).**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own anything.**

**I'm sorry for all spelling and grammar mistakes, I'm not a native speaker. **

**Please keep on reading and reviewing!**

"What?" Zelena asked and stopped chewing.

"Well, we put two and two together. I mean, the ripped out heart, Belle had received a mask that could have been Cora's back in Wonderland and most importantly her body is gone from my crypt." Regina explained and watched her sister closely. Zelena began chewing again and the swallowed. She put her food aside and stood up.

"Since when do you know?"

"Since yesterday." Regina answered truthfully. Zelena's eyes got darker with anger. It was probably not just not the best time but even the worst possible.

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought you would trust me! You endangered me by not telling me!" Zelena cried out. She stormed towards Regina who backed away although there were still the metal bars between them (which actually did not put up any challenge for an experienced witch like Zelena).

"I'm sorry I did not know how you would react." Regina answered defensively.

"So why tell me now?!" Zelena's voice got louder and louder.

"I want you to be safe! I wanted to be sure before I told you because I thought maybe you would reconsider your decision to seek redemption at the prospect to avenge yourself. I'm sorry. You are probably right I should have told you from the beginning. Zelena, I only wanted to do what's best for you."

"Ha! Best for me! Don't lie to me, Regina! You are just like all the others! You betrayed my trust! But in fact it's my fault! How could I be as stupid to believe that you would be different? Are you afraid that mommy dearest will prefer me in the end? Is it that?" Zelena was full on shouting now. One could almost see her blood boiling in her veins. Regina, for the first time in a long long time had to admit that she was slightly afraid.

"Well, I have the feeling that she is not here to choose anyone. I understand that your jealousy can't ebb away in one day but please you have to believe me that I-" Regina began but was quickly interrupted by her sister's furious shouting.

"That you are what?! Sorry, yes you said that before but that does not make the things that were being done to me any less hurtful! It's your fault!"

Slowly but surely Regina realized that her revelation about Cora was only the last straw that broke the camel's back and made Zelena explode suddenly voicing everything she had planned to confront her with during her revenge. Regina was desperately trying to get her emotions under control. On the one hand she wanted to scream back at her sister but on the other hand she wanted to cry because of everything her sister had to endure.

"You know how it was living in Oz? My parents hid me away from all the other people! Especially my father! He was afraid of me and he was afraid of other people would do to him, not me, him if they found out about my magic abilities! The only one who was nice to me was my mother but she passed away so early and left me alone with this good for nothing drunk! I just wanted to please him, do you understand that? No, probably you don't! It took me ages to convince my father to let me learn from a midwife in the neighborhood. But of course I couldn't finish learning because she threw me out because I couldn't control my magic! My whole life I had to suffer while you, you had everything I never had! I am not important to you, why should I?"

Zelena's face was red from anger and angry tears made her way down her cheeks. She was not thinking clearly and definitely not caring about her sister's feelings. Due to her sudden change of plans and her quick imprisonment she and Regina had not had had a chance to talk properly and to create a common ground. And now it just exploded over mere nothing. But Zelena couldn't care less at the moment. She just continued to scream blaming her sister for her misery. It was in a short break she took to breath that she finally realized that Regina was not fighting back. Her vision finally cleared a bit and she got aware of how battered Regina looked. Her eyes were red from crying and her hair was messy.

"Why are you crying! You've got nothing to cry over! I should cry but you mustn't cry!I-" Now for the first time in their fight Regina actually said something. It was so quiet that Zelena almost missed it.

"That's not what I wanted to say." Zelena looked at Regina questionably.

"When you interrupted me I did not want to say that I was sorry. I wanted to say I love you." Regina's honest revelation shocked Zelena. It was the last thing she expected from Regina right now.

"I love you and I want us to be family. I know that you went through a lot but so did I. This needs to stop. You have to find a way to get over your jealousy."

In that moment Zelena finally realized what she had said to her sister and she noticed how terribly unfair she had been to blame her sister for everything bad that had happened to her.

"Regina, I know, I'm sorry." Zelena whispered as tears were threatening to fall. "I love you too."

"Really? Because it didn't sound like it."

"Yes, I love you more than anything, I'm sorry. I promise I will work on myself, please forgive me!" Zelena said and reached out for Regina. Reluctantly Regina took the hand in her own and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Zelena, I think you need help. I think you should set up an appointment with Dr. Hopper, he's a therapist." Regina said.

"Okay, if you think that will help me, I'll do it. Will you help me as well? Will you be there?" Zelena asked not sounding not at all like the furious woman Regina had encountered several minutes before.

"Always."


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own anything.**

**Please read and review! ;)**

"So what are we going to do now?" Zelena suddenly asked in a small voice. Regina looked confused at her sister but quickly remembered that she had revealed Cora's presence in Storybrook to her sister.

"Well, we try to find her. Of course there are a lot of possibilities to hide for a witch in Storybrook, I know that from personal experience but we will find her eventually. I think we can safely assume that Rumple will help us regarding the fact that Cora put the mask in front of his apartment door and came quite close to Belle. He doesn't like that at all."

"I see" Zelena said. "Do you think that there would be a chance that I could help?"

Regina looked worriedly at her sister. On the one hand it of course made sense to let such a powerful witch like Zelena, who was probably even more powerful than their mother, help to track down Cora but on the other hand Regina feared Zelena's reaction if being confronted with their mother for the first time face-to-face.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't do anything stupid." Zelena said still trying to persuade her sister.

"The thing is you can't promise me that you won't do something stupid in the heat of the moment, maybe even something that will result in you having to stay in prison for a long time." Regina sighed. "But I will talk to Emma, maybe we can arrange something."

Zelena nodded satisfied. It was a start.

"Maybe we could arrange a meeting with, this, what was his name, Dr. Hopper, right now? The earlier the better, right?" Zelena suggested and Regina smiled and nodded. She pulled her phone from her pocket and was just about to dial the therapist when Zelena stopped her.

"May I do it? I really want to use this magic box!"

Later that day, Regina drove over to the apartment where Emma and Henry were currently living with Snow and Charming. She wanted to talk to them about Zelena's release. Only a couple of seconds after Regina had knocked on the door Henry opened it. Every time she met her son and he looked at her in that way that undoubtedly showed that he still did not remember who she was her heart broke and for a moment she had the feeling that she was suffocating. Quickly she caught herself and forced herself to smile at the boy.

"Hello young man. May I talk to your mother?" Henry nodded and stepped a step aside to let her enter.

"My mom's in the bathroom but she will be here any minute. Do you want some tea?" Regina nodded and sat down at the kitchen table while Henry made her tea. This gave her the opportunity to finally look at her son properly without him getting uncomfortable. He had grown immensely in the last year and he looked a lot more mature although he still was only eleven, almost twelve, years old.

After the boy placed a mug of tea in front of her he took a seat across from her. Regina smiled gratefully at her little Prince.

"You know, I've met your sister yesterday." Henry stated and Regina looked at Henry in surprise. Zelena obviously had forgotten to tell her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, she was very nice. She invited me to join her in exploring the town." Regina smiled she was grateful that Henry seemed to like Zelena and obviously also the other way around.

"Yes, she's gotten herself into some trouble but she will be out of prison in no time. You two will have a lot of fun."

"Yes, I think so too! Maybe you could join us?" Henry suddenly asked.

"Oh, you don't have to feel obligated to invite me along."

"Oh, no I think it would be fun having you around." The boy emphasized which led to Regina accepting the invitation. It was in that moment that Emma came down the stairs still with wet hair. Regina stood up and greeted the blonde sheriff. Henry was not very interested in their, what he assumed to be a boring conversation on paperwork and so he decided to go upstairs.

"Regina, what a surprise. What can I do for you?"

"We suspect that my mother is back in town and also committed the murder and my sister would like to help with finding our mother but she can only do so if she was to be released from her cell." Regina explained and watched Emma's thoughtful expression closely.

"Well, I can see your point but I don't know how trustworthy your sister actually is. I might regret it."

"I vouch for my sister. I mean, you cannot keep her there forever anyway so why not release her now and let her prove herself?" Regina proposed.

"I see your point…alright, I will let her go under one condition: you will watch her closely, alright?" Emma said and lifted her forefinger.

"I promise. Is there any new information on a possible hiding place of my mother?"

"No, not really. As expected she did not leave any traces behind. Everything we know is what she wanted us to know. It's infuriating!" Emma exclaimed sounding something in between of angry and desperate.

"I know and I promise that Zelena and I will do everything I our power to prevent my mother from committing any further crimes." After having said this Regina turned around and was just about to leave the apartment when Emma stopped her.

"Do you really think that releasing Zelena is a good idea? Will she be able to control her anger? I don't want to imprison her again this time for a more serious crime." Emma said quietly. Regina took a minute before answering.

"I understand your worries but I promise I'll watch her closely. She's a good person only very emotional. But I believe in her and for the beginning this is enough."


	13. Chapter 13

**I don't own anything.**

**Please read and review ;)**

Regina returned to the station and opened the cell door and let her sister out.

"And they really agreed to let me go? Just like that?" Zelena asked suspiciously.

"Yes, it did not take much effort to convince Emma. She knew herself that imprisoning you in this cell would not be a long time solution and we need your help to find mother, so, as I said, it was quite simple." Regina explained as the two of the left the building and walked to the cemetery. It actually was quite a distance but Zelena had expressed her desire to take a nice long walk after spending her time in the tiny prison cell.

Their plan now was to find a spell that would make it possible for them to track Cora down by her magic, meaning they could literally sense magic being used and then the spell would guide them to the person having used magic.

Quickly they entered the crypt and descended the stairs. They walked over to her mother's possessions that were still lying untouched in a special room that Regina had dedicated to her mother after she had died. As Regina quickly grabbed the various books on magic lying around Zelena looked at her mother's possession in awe. She had never met her mother in person and only heard what others said about her and now seeing her things it was like she was finally getting to know her mother in some way. She carefully ran her hand over the silken dress hanging on a hanger admiring the delicate embroidery on the upper half of the dress. Her mother must be an elegant and regal woman. What she saw here was quite the contrast to what everybody was saying about her. Could someone with such a taste in clothes and belongings be bad?

'Yes, they can' she quickly reminded herself. There were enough examples to refute this idea. Quickly, she started concentrating on the task at hand. Find their mother.

Regina who understood that Zelena needed a moment to herself had already begun to go through the books searching for the right spell. She was sure she had once seen it before but couldn't remember where. It actually took the two of them more than one and a half hours to go through the books and finally, in the last book, to find the spell.

"Great! Now we cast this spell, find mother and then end this madness." Regina said and stood up.

"Wait! What do you mean with "end the madness"? Do you want to kill her?" Zelena asked clearly opposed to this idea.

"We, I don't know. I think we will have to improvise. We don't know what's going to expect us once we find-"

"I did not ask if it is necessary to kill her, I asked if you want to kill our mother." Zelena interrupted her sister. Regina was at loss of words. How was she supposed to answer this question? Regina took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. To be honest she had not thought about what she wanted to do when they finally stood in front of their mother face to face.

"I don't know." Regina mumbled. She turned around and faced the wall. For a short moment Zelena thought her sister had started to cry but when Regina turned around once more her cheeks did not show any signs of shed tears. Zelena stood up and took a tentative step towards her sister.

"You don't want to kill her, Regina. Deep down in your heart you love Cora although she has ruined your life and hurt you more often than you can count. But you will always love her." Zelena whispered and pulled her sister into a hug.

"Yes" Regina whispered. "But to do nothing would be selfish. I mean, it's not just about us! Cora endangers the whole town, she already killed one man who says that she will change?" Regina answered and drew away from the hug.

"Maybe she will change for us?" Zelena cried out with her eyes full of hope. With a sigh Regina remembered the time when she had hoped for the same. When she was a little child this hope had kept her going but she was disappointed. The same happened in Storybrook when Cora had found a way to this realm claiming to be sorry and to be willing to change for her daughter. Her hope that her mother's intentions were honest had been so strong that she had not questioned her mother's plans. But in the end it turned out that she had only used Regina. Again.

"Zelena, I understand that you want this so badly but you should not get your hopes too high. I don't want you to be disappointed." Regina said and saw sadness flickering across Zelena's face.

"So…back to the question. What are we going to do with Cora?"

"We only kill her if it is absolutely necessary. We try to arrest her and somehow restrain her power, okay?" Regina suggested. Zelena nodded relieved. "So now we should finally cast the spell or it will be dark outside."

Zelena grabbed the book and read the spell. Surprisingly, it was quite easy and it did not need any further preparation. It seemed as if the luck was on their side. She read the spell a couple of times so that she knew every syllable by heart. Then she took a deep breath and spoke the spell emphasizing every word. For a moment nothing happened then a strange feeling settled in her pit of the stomach. Zelena closed her eyes. There seemed to be various sources of magic in this town. Of course there was Regina, Rumple and herself. She could also feel the light magic of Emma Swan and even this strange Tinkerbell Regina had once mentioned somewhere across town. But there was one other source. It was nowhere in the town but somewhere in the forest around town. In her mind images of an abandoned hut in the woods popped up.

"I know where she is" Zelena gasped and pulled Regina out of the room. Regina wanted to get her car to drive to the hut but the red-haired woman could convince her that magic would be more efficient and quicker. So only a couple of moments later they stood outside a shabby wooden hut watching their mother through one of the broken windows. It was time to finally confront Cora.

**A./N. I think there will be about three to four more chapters to this story. If there is anything you would like me to include in this story, please feel free to contact me.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own anything.**

**I want to thank everyone who gave me input for the next chapters and I think there are some quite good ideas!**

**Please read and review!**

The two of them spend another couple of moments watching Cora through the broken window. It seemed like she was simply reading or something, but actually one could never know whether she was really reading or plotting something. When the two sisters finally came to the conclusion that there was not much more that they could learn from their current position they started creeping closer to the hut. They could not yet tell if Cora was alone or if there was someone with her.

"I would feel a lot more comfortable if I knew exactly what she wants to achieve! And how she returned from death, I mean, Rumple once told me that bringing someone back was as good as impossible but a person binging himself back to life without the help of another person is impossible." Zelena whispered and Regina could clearly sense a trace of fear in the way she said it.

"Does that mean that you think that someone brought her back against her will?" Regina asked silently. Zelena only shrugged. It seemed to be the only possible solution but after the events of the last couple of weeks she did not want to tie herself down to this option.

The two of them reached the hut and sneaked towards the window and pressed their backs against the wall under the window.

"I'm going to stand up very quickly and peek through the window to see if she's alone and to get as much information as possible, alright?" Regina whispered and before Zelena had the chance to answer she stood up until her eyes were high enough to look inside but not high enough to make her presence too obvious. Only a couple of seconds later she let herself fall to the ground next to her sister again. Zelena looked at her questionably.

"She's alone. Everything seems normal. I think we should go in now before anything changes."

Zelena grabbed Regina's hand and in the next moment they were engulfed in green smoke. When the smoke cleared Regina found herself standing in the middle of the wooden hut facing her mother. Cora stood up and put the book down. Then she took a tentative step towards the two of them.

"Regina?" She asked with awe. Carefully she reached out and touched Regina's arm so carefully as if she expected Regina to break.

"Mother, is it really you?" Regina asked suddenly at the brink of tears. Cora who had tears running down her cheeks nodded.

"Yes, yes it is me!" Then she leaped forward and engulfed her brunette daughter in a tight hug.

"Mother, I thought that you were dead! How did you manage to get back?" Regina could hardly talk with sobs shaking her tiny form.

"And I was but I was brought back from death by…" Cora answered her voice getting quieter and quieter until her voice was barely audible.

"Who brought you back?" Regina asked.

"Rumpelstiltskin."

"What?! Why? And what happened to this dwarf at the town line. You know, Rumple told us that he did not know who killed the dwarf!"

"I'm not quite sure I have to admit, I mean I'm not alive for a very long time but he said something about repaying a debt and that things in Storybrook had changed and I had to be there to see it. He said that he wanted to change his life and wanted to make up for his misdeeds but I don't know what this has to do with me whatsoever. Concerning the dwarf I can simply say that it was me and I'm sorry. It was right after Rumple brought me back and to say that I was furious is an understatement. And in my rage I killed the dwarf. I'm sorry." For the first time in her life Regina believed her mother that she was genuinely sorry.

"Mother, do you still have your heart?" Regina asked and grabbed her mother's hand.

"Yes, yes I do have my heart and I promise I'll never have it removed again. Regina, I'm sorry for everything you've been through because of me. I should never have manipulated you and I should never have made you marry the kind. I'm so sorry." Now it was Cora's time to sob uncontrollably. Once more Regina pulled her mother into a hug.

Regina could not believe her luck. Her mother finally seemed to be the person she wanted her to be. True, she was not even close to be redeemed, in fact, she had just killed an innocent dwarf but she had her heart back and regretted the things she did in the past which was a first step in the right direction. Suddenly she remembered her sister standing awkwardly next to them and she obviously did not know what to say or how to react.

To be honest, Zelena was fighting back her jealousy. Once again she was ignored. She would not tolerate this situation any longer. She thought that Regina was on her side and loved her but as soon as there was another person that was better than her she was forgotten!

But before Zelena could do something Regina drew back from their hug. "Mother? We can talk another time but right now I want you to meet Zelena." Then Regina pointed at her red-haired sister.

Nervously Zelena stepped from one food to the other. Regina took a step away from her mother to stand next to her sister. She put a reassuring hand on her sister's lower back.

"Hello Cora, you probably can't remember me but here I am. I'm-."

"- my daughter." Zelena looked surprised and took a step back as if she expected some sort of attack. "Of course I recognize you, how could I ever forget my daughter?" Then she carefully brushed the hair from her forehead and traced a tiny birthmark just below her hairline. "I could never forget you, true, I abandoned you but I never could forget you no matter how hard I tried."

Then Cora pulled Zelena in a tight hug just like she had hugged Regina a couple of minutes before.


	15. Chapter 15

**I don't own anything. **

**I honestly have to admit that I'm not really satisfied with Cora's explanation in this chapter but I couldn't come up with a better explanation at the moment. Hopefully we'll get a better one Sunday.**

**Please read and review!**

"Mommie?" Zelena whimpered and clung to Cora as if her life depended on it.

"Shh, it's okay, mommie's here now." Cora whispered and drew soothing circles on her older daughter's back. Both women had tears running down her cheeks and also Regina was crying because of the beautiful scene in front of her. It was everything Regina had wished for her sister to get. Love.

"Honey, I'm so sorry that I abandoned you. In my life I made tons of mistakes and I am responsible for a lot of misery in your and your sister's life and I'm so sorry for that. I want us to become a family, do you want that too?" Cora whispered and placed a kiss on Zelena's forehead. Zelena nodded quickly and buried her head in the crook of her mother's neck. In that moment it seemed like she had forgotten all her anger on her mother and all the disappointment. But of course this could not last forever.

After two minutes of silent hugging Zelena drew back and stepped a step backwards. Tears were still glistening in her eyes but in comparison to before her eyes shone with anger.

"And that's it? You telling me that you are sorry and I'm supposed to forgive you, just like that?" Zelena hissed and seemed tempted to hurl some kind of spell at her mother. The only thing that probably prevented Cora from being hit by a spell was Regina's pleading look at her sister.

"Zelena, believe me: I know that you suffered and probably still do because of me and I don't think that I'll ever be able to make up for all the misery I caused you. But I promise that I'll never stop trying."

"Why?" Zelena asked. She was hardly able to prevent her voice from breaking.

"Sorry, honey, I don't know what you mean."

"Why did you abandon me? Why did you choose Regina over me? What was wrong with me?" Zelena screamed at her mother. The red-haired witch heard Regina wince quietly at her sharp tone.

"I-Because of your father. Rumpelstiltskin is your father, dear." Cora took a deep breath and waited a moment for the shocking news to settle but when no further questions came she continued. "Rumpelstiltskin was the only man I ever truly loved. I was with him before I married your father, Regina, and I became pregnant. The only problem was that Rumpelstiltskin was not willing to make a commitment to me. I wanted him to marry me but he refused and left me. Then the wonderful night came when you were born, Zelena. You were such a beautiful baby. I fell in love with you as soon as you first looked at me with those big blue eyes of yours. It was incredible. It was the best moment in my life-of course next to the day your sister was born. The day after you were born, Zelena, Regina's father who did not know of my relationship with the Dark One proposed to me. I was really angry at Rumpelstiltskin because he didn't want to marry me and my need for power grew stronger and stronger every day and that's why I accepted the proposal. You see Rumpel was not willing to give me what I wanted back then and I had to chance to marry into a royal family and to gain power! But to blame only him for the fact that I abandoned you would probably not quite fair. It was my decision alone. Henry would have never married me if he'd known that I already had a daughter. But honey, I want you to know that the pain of being separated from you almost tore me apart. It hurt so much and one day I could not bear it anymore. I removed my own heart to never have to feel this pain ever again. Zelena, to say it once more: there was nothing wrong with you and Regina is in no way better or worse than you. Both of you would have been enough for me and I love you both so much."

After Cora had ended her explanations no one said a word for the first five minutes. "Zelena, this is not supposed to be a justification but simply an explanation for my actions, okay? You don't have to forgive me, you know, I only want you to know that from now on I will be there for you."

"Does he know? Does Rumpelstiltskin know that he's my father?" Zelena whispered. She had not yet processed all the information Cora had revealed in her short speech.

"No, I don't think he did. He left before my pregnancy became too obvious and I spend the rest of the pregnancy alone. No one knew. And I guess if he'd known with the help of his dark one powers or something he would have said something. It would be completely off character to not want to control the situation." Zelena nodded blinking quickly to prevent more tears from falling. "But how did he find out? He obviously knew it because you said he wants to change his life and make up for his wrongdoings and then he brought you back. He knows I'm his daughter."

"I don't know how he found out. He probably put two and two together. Once you were here and confronted him and told him that I'm your mother it probably wasn't hard o guess." Cora answered.

"You know, Cora, I don't think I'll be able to forgive you anytime soon but I won't deny that it felt good being hugged by you, so I think that maybe we could get to know each other and see where this is leading, okay?" Zelena suggested and Cora accepted with a bright smile.

"Can you simply leave?" Regina suddenly asked.

"Well, I haven't tried yet but I don't think there's some kind of enchantment that keeps me here." Cora said and looked around as if she would be able to see it.

"There is no enchantment imprisoning her here. She is free to go. It was only for her personal safety that I asked her to stay here." The three women turned around quickly only to see Rumpelstiltskin standing in the door.

"Rumpel, I think we need to talk." Zelena said. She took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back and held her head up high to not look vulnerable and weak in front her former mentor. Once more she felt fury rising in side of her.

**Happy Easter everybody!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I don't own anything. **

**I know I promised some SwanQueen elements but I did not manage to involve Emma. I think I'm going to save this for the end of the story as some kind of view in the future. **

**Oh and by the way in this story Neal is still alive ;)**

**Please read and review!**

"I agree, dear." Rumple said and motioned towards the couch. The women followed his suggestion and sat down next to each other on the couch. Rumple had a seat across from them in the armchair.

"Why did you bring mother back?" Regina started the conversation. Rumple took a deep breath before he answered.

"You see after I had figured out that Zelena had to be my own flesh and blood I told Belle because sooner or later she'd find out anyway. She insisted that I had to do something; I was supposed to take that revelation as a starting-point to change my life. I agreed and because I have so many things to make up for I wanted to do something that you would appreciate. I also figured that regarding the way you, Cora, looked at Regina before your death you were not a threat anymore. Bringing your mother back, Regina, by the way was not only meant to be some kind of present to your sister but to you as well because I caused you a lot of misery too."

"So I'm a present?" Cora asked. She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"You know what I mean." Rumple replied grumpily.

"Of course I do"

With the intention of not attracting any attention Regina cuddled closer to her mother. Cora laid her arm around Regina's waist and pulled her daughter closer. Regina rested her head on Cora's shoulder. Zelena looked at her mother and sister and suddenly hoped that one day she could feel the same love for her mother than her sister.

"And that's it? You might understand that I doubt that the Dark One changes from one day to the other. So what's the real reason?" Zelena tried not to fall for Rumpelstiltskin's calm voice. Many years ago she had thought that she was in love with this man but luckily she had figured out that the feeling she thought was love was in fact just the relief that someone put faith in her and her abilities.

"I know and understand that you cannot trust me, not yet, anyway. I just hope that one day we can find a common ground and be a family. It might sound cheesy but I'm not the same man I was, it is probably safe to say that everyone in this room has changed a lot. I've found my true love and I'll never let her go again. To her, Belle, it is important that I come to peace with my past and make up for my wrongdoings and she is right. That's why I brought Cora back. I know that back when I was your teacher you looked up at me and I disappointed you. I made you feel as if you were worth nothing and chose Regina over you. By doing so I caused you and your sister a lot of misery. I am sorry." Rumpelstiltskin explained and Cora nodded slowly. All three of them looked at Zelena to see how she would react. Zelena's face was unreadable and she decided not to reply to Rumple's explanation. Instead she changed the topic.

"If you had known about my mother's pregnancy would you have encouraged her to…get rid of me?" Zelena asked for the first time in her conversation with her father sounding insecure and vulnerable. Rumple was silent while he thought about an honest but not too frank answer.

"You know that I was far from being perfect and I guess my priorities were different. I don't know if you know but I have a son, his name is Neal. My main goal as the Dark One was to find a way to get him back after he had fallen through a portal. That's why I needed someone to enact the curse. I love my son so to say that I was generally opposed to children or the concept of family is wrong. But as the Dark One I was so focused on my son that I was not willing to let a new chance at family in my life. I did not want to commit myself to your mother and I think that I would not have liked the idea of another child in that time. So today I am really happy that I did not know." Rumple said and hoped he had not triggered any further waves of envy but Zelena seemed pretty calm.

"I appreciate your honest answer." Zelena was truly surprised at Rumpelstiltskin's honesty. Regina reached over and took Zelena's hand in her own and squeezed reassuringly. Zelena smiled at her sister showing her that she was handling the revelations well.

"So what is going to happen now?" Regina asked and looked back and forth between her mother and her former mentor.

"I suggest that we all go back to town now and resume our normal lives. We could schedule a fixed day in the week that we use to meet and do something together. What do you think?" Rumpel suggested and looked expectantly at the three women. Cora and Regina smiled approvingly and also Zelena nodded.

"Mother if you want you can stay with me." Regina offered and as soon as she saw sadness flickering across her sister's face she extended her offer. "Zelena, of course you are welcome as well. I guess it's not very comfortable in that old farmhouse so far away from everyone else."

"Thank you" Zelena smiled gratefully.

"Then it's settled. Let's go."

The three of them left the hut and Rumple took them back to town with his car. When he pulled up to the driveway of Regina's mansion they all said goodbye and agreed to meet again on Wednesday for lunch at Granny's. For the first time in years Zelena felt hope- hope that she could have a family and find a happy ending.


	17. Chapter 17

**I don't own anything.**

**Please read and review! ;)**

The next morning Regina was the first one up. She decided to prepare breakfast. She brewed some coffee, boiled three eggs and got some flowers from her garden to decorate the breakfast table. Then she called Emma to inform her about what had happened the evening before.

"Smells well, honey." Cora said as she entered the kitchen with a genuine smile. "Good morning"

"Good morning, mother." Regina said and in that moment also her sister entered the kitchen. As soon as Regina saw Zelena she raised one perfect eyebrow.

"Is that my blouse?" It was the grey silken blouse that Henry had once given Emma when she'd just gotten to Storybrook.

Zelena blushed slightly and refrained from making a comment on how it looked better on her than on her sister.

As if Regina could read her mind she said "Old habits die hard, don't they?" Zelena nodded. Cora only looked back and forth between them not quite understanding what was going on between them.

"Are you two fighting?" She then asked.

"No, mother, we are not fighting. Regina, if you want I can go back up and change." Zelena suggested not to annoy her sister but Regina only shook her head.

"Don't be silly, I'm just joking."

The three of them sat down around the table and enjoyed their breakfast. Afterwards they decided to explore Storybrook because neither Zelena nor Cora had spent much time in town. Regina showed them the park, her vault in the cemetery, Gold's pawn shop where they met Rumpel, the supermarket and finally several fashion boutiques.

"Is this where you buy your clothes?" Cora asked her daughter curiously. Regina nodded.

"When the curse was not yet broken I sometimes took Henry on trips out of town to buy my clothes. But since the curse broke I come here to get clothes. The staff is very friendly and keeps out of my way unless I've got a request or something and also the quality of the clothes is very satisfying." Regina explained as they entered the store.

A young woman behind the counter was at first taken aback when she saw who just entered the boutique but quickly caught herself and smiled at the three women. She asked if she could help but Regina quickly declined the offer.

"Honey, these are all very nice things but I don't have any money to buy them and I think stealing would be the wrong approach if Zelena and I want to be a part of the community in the near future." Cora said to Regina who only rolled her eyes.

"Oh mother, of course I know that you don't have any money. It's on me, I'm going to pay."

"Regina, you don't have to, I mean these are all very expensive and-" Regina interrupted her sister quickly.

"I've been mayor for twenty-eight years in this town and the curse gave me so much money that I'll probably never be able to spend it all. You know I could buy the whole boutique if I wanted. So don't worry about the money." This seemed to calm Zelena and Cora and they started looking for appropriate attire.

Regina was looking at a pair of black dress pants when she heard the tiny bell over the door ringing and in the next moment Zelena saying: "Hello, Henry. Good to see you again."

Regina quickly put back the trousers and went to her sister who was still talking to her son.

"So you are out of prison again, cool." Henry sat and the smiled at Regina.

"Oh yes, I was released only two days ago. Now I'm buying some new clothes so I don't always have to wear my sister's clothes. What are you doing here by the way?" Zelena answered and Henry turned around to point at the door where his blonde mother just entered. Emma made her way over to her son and greeted Zelena and Regina.

"Emma, nice to see you." Regina said a bit breathlessly. Zelena looked at Regina knowingly.

"I didn't expect that." Emma replied with a smile. "I thought you would say something like: Hello Emma, did you get lost? Your clothes look as if you had gotten them from the rummage table and not from an exquisite boutique like this one."

Zelena laughed out loud and Regina blushed a bit. A year ago this would have been exactly the thing she would have said.

"No, to tell the truth I'm looking for a present for my mother." Emma continued and Regina nodded. It was Snow's birthday next week.

"Yes, and my mother blackmailed me into coming along. But she promised me some ice-cream afterwards." Henry added and smiled politely at the two women.

Suddenly Cora who of course did not know about Henry's loss of memory joined the group. "Henry, nice to meet you in person! I've seen so many pictures at your mother's house! Such a grown-up boy!"

"I'm sorry but do I know you and when were you in our apartment?" Henry asked suspiciously. The three other women tensed while Cora looked confused.

"Don't worry" Zelena cried out and pulled Cora some steps away. "She is old and she doesn't know what she is talking about. Our mother is confused. She of course wasn't in your apartment that would be creepy, wouldn't it?" Zelena laughed unconvincingly while Cora stared at her in horror.

"Henry, why don't you already go to the diner and I quickly get the gift card?" Emma suggested and handed her son some money. Henry used the opportunity and left the store.

As soon as he was out of the door Emma laughed wholeheartedly.

"Wow, Cora you truly have changed. I bet if someone had said something like that last year you would have bidden this person's head off."

"Definitely. But now it's oaky, I'm not angry." Cora said and laughed quietly. "Although I think now he's afraid of me. But what happened to him?"

Regina quickly explained what had happened to his memory.

"Why didn't you restore his memory yet?" Cora asked and frowned.

"Well, because I don't know how! Don't you think I would have restored it by now if I just knew how?!" Regina cried out and buried her face in her hands.

"I know honey, I'm sorry. Do you know that sometimes when you cannot bring back memories with a potion of some sorts you can try bringing it back with personal belongings?" Cora asked. All three women looked confused.

"But this is not a normal amnesia. This memory loss was caused by magic and I thought it also had to be undone by magic." Regina whispered and wiped her eyes.

"Not necessarily. Come on, Emma needs to get to Henry and on the way I will explain this to you."


	18. Chapter 18

**I don't own anything.**

**Please read and review ;)**

Regina quickly paid for the clothes her mother and her sister had chosen and then they left the boutique. Slowly they made their way over to the diner while listening closely to Cora.

"You see, often people say that material belongings are not important in contrast to immaterial things like emotion, character or simply being happy. So far so good, but the problem is that sometimes the immaterial is linked to the material meaning that everything a being is made up of can be connected to one of his possessions. So and if this person loses his identity in some way like Henry for example lost his memory and doesn't remember who he really is one of his belongings could be the key to help him regain his memory." The three younger women listened in awe. Regina had to fight the urge to get her hopes up because chances where high that this wouldn't work and she would end up being disappointed.

"On what does it depend whether someone's soul is connected to his belongings or not?" Zelena asked curiously.

"Well, firstly it depends on the person. Only a strong character is able to do that and then this person also secondly needs an object which he holds dear. It has to be something this person is very dedicated to and loves very much. Contrary to common belief not very many people possess objects that are that important to them."

"How do we find out if there's an object linked to his soul?" Emma asked. She seemed suspicious.

"It is hardly possible to find that out in advance. Either it works or it doesn't work. But don't worry if the two of you Emma and Regina find something that he could be linked to and we try to restore his memory the worst things that could possibly happen is that it doesn't work. It's not dangerous. But I guess because you two know Henry very well there will be a point when you come across one of his possessions and you suddenly know that if there is one object that can hold this much power it has to be this one." Regina nodded in her mind already going through Henry's possessions.

"Okay, I promised Henry anyway to take him on an exploring trip around town and that will give you time to go through his belongings." Zelena suggested. Emma and Regina nodded thankfully.

Meanwhile they had reached the diner and the women said good bye. Zelena went inside to join Henry, Cora went to Regina's crypt to go through the spell once more and Emma and Regina decided to go to the mansion to look for the right object. As soon as they entered the huge white house they made their way upstairs to Henry's old room. Without hesitation Emma went inside while Regina took a moment to look around as if she'd never seen this room before. It felt strange for her to enter his room knowing that at the moment it was more like an old relict from another time when her son still lived under the same roof as her.

"Come on, Regina, we have to find whatever we are looking for." Emma said urgently.

"Don't worry, I did not forget" Regina snapped out of her thoughts and stepped into the room. She went through Henry's closet where he also stored his comic books and most precious possessions. Nothing. Cora had assured them that they would know which object would be the right one if they came across it. Three hours later after the two of them had gone through Henry's room twice and after that they had searched the whole house as well they were desperate.

"There has to be something." Regina whispered tears threatening to fall.

"Hey, Regina, look at me. We are not giving up, okay? We will find a way and if it is the last thing I do, I will bring Henry's memory back. I promise." Emma said. She walked over to the brunette witch and took her hand to squeeze it gently.

"We will"

"Yes, we will"

It was in that moment that something caught Regina's attention- Henry's fairy tale book.

"Of course" She whispered and went over to get it from his rightful place on top of her desk in her study. Carefully she let her hand glide over the rough surface. Slowly she traced the letters saying "Once Upon A Time". Emma came over rolling her eyes.

"We really could have figured this out sooner, couldn't we?" Emma as well touched the book awestruck. They both took a moment to silently thank whoever was responsible for them finding the book for their discovery and then Regina quickly pulled out her mobile phone from her pocket und called her sister.

To her great surprise it wasn't Zelena who picked up but Henry.

"Henry? Is everything alright? Why are you picking up Zelena's mobile phone?"

"When the phone started ringing she panicked and was about to drown it in her cup of coffee but I was able to save it last minute." He explained and Regina chuckled. Slowly but surely Regina doubted that Zelena would ever learn how to handle the phone.

"Well, thank you Henry but could you hand the mobile phone over to my sister now? I need to talk to her." Regina said gently.

"Sure" He said and before she could even say good bye she heard her sister's voice.

"Hello? Regina? Did you find what you were looking for?" Zelena asked. She was barely audible. She probably was holding the phone upside down again, Regina figured.

"Yes, we did. Could you bring Henry over? I'll get mother."

"Of course, see you soon, sis."


	19. Chapter 19

**I don't own anything. **

**Please read & review ;)**

After Regina had hung up she turned around and faced Emma.

"I'll just get my mother you can wait here, okay?" Emma nodded and quickly Regina was engulfed in purple smoke. After the smoke had cleared Emma sat down on the couch waiting for her return.

It took Regina less than a minute to poof in her crypt; find her mother and tell her that they'd hopefully found the right item. Cora took Regina's hand and teleported them back to the mansion.

"Until your sister and Henry arrive we can already prepare the spell." Cora said and started rummaging through the drawers.

"What's there to prepare?" Emma asked.

"Miss Swan I've been told that my daughter teaches you magic. What she probably taught you up to now are pretty simple spells compared to the one we want to enact now. As I said it is not dangerous but difficult to perform because in some way we try to summon Henry's true personality he's lost by losing his memory which is quite similar to summoning creatures like demons. You need protection spells to make sure you control the creature and that it cannot escape. In our case we want to make sure that Henry's soul goes in Henry's body and not in one of us because that would be bad and hard to make undone." Cora explained while she looked through the bottom drawer of an old closet. Then she straightened up obviously having found what she was looking for. She held up a piece of white chalk.

Regina reentered the room holding a vial with a black liquid that smelled horrendous.

"What the heck is this for?" Emma asked and grimaced.

"This, Emma, is for our protection as well. Before we start every one of us has to drink a sip of that." Regina said and placed the veil on the table. With a flick of her wrist Cora removed the carpet from underneath the table and started drawing symbols on the floor around the table. Emma did not understand one bit of what she was writing. Just as the older woman drew the last symbol the doorbell rang. Regina opened the door and hugged her sister as a greeting. Then she guided Henry and Zelena into her dining room.

"What is that? You know that this is pretty creepy, don't you?" Henry said and raised an eyebrow. In that moment he bore striking resemblance to his adoptive mother.

"I know that this must looking bizarre to you, Henry, but I promise there is nothing to worry about." Regina said and put a reassuring hand on her son's shoulder.

Henry was still suspicious so Emma decided to say something reassuring as well. "Kid, everything is fine. Do you remember when you told me how much you love to experiment in school? Just look at this as an experiment as well. It will be fun."

"An experiment? This looks quite unprofessional to be an experiment." Henry said doubtfully.

"Don't worry young man; I can assure you that my daughters and I are professionals in this." Cora said and motioned for Henry to sit down on a chair at the dining room table. Reluctantly he did as he was told. He cleared his throat.

"Whatever you are doing here is not dangerous, is it? There was a boy in my class who tried to summon a demon and he told everyone that he was successful and the day after he fell down the stairs and broke his leg." Henry told them and Cora chuckled quietly.

"Don't worry, this is not dangerous and by the way I'm a hundred percent sure that your classmate did not summon a demon. He falling down the stairs was just an unlucky coincidence."

"Okay, let's begin" Zelena said and the four women sat down around the table. In the last couple of minutes the sun was covered by thick dark clouds so the room was quite dark. Regina put Henry's book of fairytales in the middle of the table. Then she took a sip from the vial and grimaced. She passed it on to her sister who gave it to their mother and last but not least it was Emma's time to drink the disgusting potion.

"Now, everybody, hold hands" Cora said and took Zelena's hand in her own and held the other out to Henry.

"Oh dear lord" He muttered before tentatively taking her hand in his own. For a couple of minutes they sat in silence eyes closed. The wind grew stronger. Just as Henry was about to state how ridiculous the situation was Cora started to recite the spell. Listening to her was captivating. Henry felt how his eyelids became heavy to the point where he could hardly keep them open. He yawned and finally surrendered to the urge to close his eyes. Hardly did he know that Cora's spell was nothing more than sleeping spell.

When the four women saw that Henry was asleep Cora stopped and started with the spell to get back the boy's memory. Slowly the book of fairytale started glowing. A strong wind gust flipped the book open.

Regina smiled relieved. The spell worked and they had found the right object. Henry would finally regain his memory and he would finally remember her. He would remember how much she loved him and how she sacrificed everything to save him and he would finally be proud of her. She loved her boy so much and she looked forward to the moment when he would look at her for the first time.

Suddenly a black cloud rose from the pages of the book. Emma frowned and suddenly she noticed that the cloud consisted of letters from the book leaving the pages of the book blank. The cloud slowly made its way over to Henry. Regina drew in a sharp breath when the cloud aimed at her son's chest. The cloud entered Henry's chest.

Suddenly everything was quiet. Cora exhaled audibly and let go of the hands she was holding.

"It worked!" Cora exclaimed happily but tiredly.

"What's wrong with him now?" Regina asked fearfully.

"Don't worry, he's only sleeping. He will wake up on his own in the next hour. I think it would be best to move him to his bed and allow him to rest." Cora said and stood. Emma stood up and went over to Henry to lift him up. She made her way upstairs closely followed by Regina.

"Don't look so worried, Regina! Everything will be fine, it worked! Just give him time to rest." Emma said. Carefully she laid Henry down in the bed and tucked him in. Now they could do nothing else than wait.


	20. Chapter 20

**I don't own Once Upon A Time or its characters.**

**Please read and review. **

While Regina and Emma went upstairs to tuck Henry in Cora and Zelena stayed downstairs. Cora ran her hand through her hair. She looked tired and was paler than usual. Zelena looked at her worriedly.

"Cora, are you alright?"

Cora looked at her daughter and smiled slightly.

"I'm fine, honey, I'm fine." Then she stood up but immediately a wave of dizziness hit her. But before she could fall Zelena held her and kept her straight.

"Yes, I can see how well you are. Now, come, I'll get you to the couch where you can lie down." She said and guided her over to the couch. Cora's vision blackened at the edges and Zelena almost had to carry her. When they entered the living room Zelena put the pillows down on the floor to give her mother more room on the couch. Carefully she laid the older woman down and put a pillow under her head.

"I think that maybe it was all a bit too much for you." Zelena said and covered her mother with a blanket.

"Don't say that, honey. That makes me feel even older than I truly am. In the past I would have performed the spell without even blinking but now... I get weaker, Zelena. I become older. Don't misunderstand me, it's not bad, it's natural but I wish that I was younger so I would have more time to make up for my mistakes." Cora said weakly.

"Mother, don't say that, you've got plenty of time! You are not old!" Zelena sounded very upset. Of course she would never admit it but the thought alone that her mother could die someday made her sad and want to cry. Zelena tentatively sat down next to Cora on the couch and took her mother's hand.

"Oh, Zelena, of course I do but nevertheless I wish I had even more. Don't be sad, darling." Cora sat and brushed away a tear that Zelena didn't even know was running down her cheek. Cora then pulled Zelena down on the couch next to her. Zelena buried her head in the crook of her mother's neck and cried. Cried for all the lost time but also out of happiness that she now had a prospect at a better and happier future.

When Regina and Emma returned downstairs they found mother and daughter sleeping peacefully on the couch. Regina went over to them and covered also Zelena with a blanket. Shen then took out her mobile phone and took a quick picture to capture the moment.

The next hour not a word was spoken in the Mills household. With Henry, Zelena and Cora sleeping there were only Emma and Regina who were occupied by looking through old photo albums showing Henry from the moment Regina first held him to right before he ran off to Boston and brought Emma to town. Both of them were so deeply lost in their thoughts that neither heard Henry coming down the stairs.

"Ma? Mom? What happened?"

Both Emma and Regina's heads shot up and the both cried out in unison. "Henry!"

Startled by the sudden noise Cora and Zelena woke up and quickly sat up. Quickly they realized what is going on. Regina and Emma leaped forward and pulled Henry in a tight hug.

"Hey, it's okay. I love you too but could you let me go? I can't breathe." He said and reluctantly his mothers released him.

"Henry, my little prince, do you remember?" Regina asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, I remember- I remember you, mom. I missed you! All the time I knew something was missing and I was right. I love you so much, mommy." Henry whispered and hugged his brunette mother once more.

"So you remember everything? Also the fairytale thing? Everything?" Emma asked just to make sure. Henry nodded.

"Yes, and finally all the strange things that have happened since we came back to Storybrook make sense. I mean Ruby knew that I like Cinnamon on my hot Cocoa or why you knew so much about me, mom. Although I have to say it does not answer all questions. For example is this red-haired woman really your sister and who was this crazy woman in the boutique? She was really creepy."

Henry got aware of the fact that the two women he had just talked about where in the room when Zelena started laughing out loud. She almost fell off the couch laughing while Cora blushed to the point where her face looked like a giant tomato.

"Upps" Henry muttered and cleared his throat. Regina and Emma were chuckling as well.

"To answer your question, Henry, yes, Zelena is my sister. She enacted the second curse that got us back to this realm and the 'creepy' woman as you like to refer to her is in fact our mother. But don't worry it was only some misunderstandings that made her appear so creepy. Actually she is quite nice- at least since she got her heart back. You don't have to be afraid. Oh, and to make our family tree even more complicated Rumpelstiltskin, Mr. Gold, is Zelena's father." Regina explained to Henry while Zelena and Cora stood up from the couch and made their way over to the young boy.

"I see, you know that this makes my dad your brother?" He said to Regina and Zelena.

"Actually, he's only Zelena's brother because Neal and I don't share the same parent." Regina stated but was quickly interrupted by Henry.

"But it was you who told me that simply being blood related doesn't make a family but that love does. That means he could be your brother too!"

"Oh, Henry, let's use this evening to celebrate the return of your memories and start discussing theories and complicated family trees in the morning, alright?" Emma said smilingly.

"Okay" Henry said reluctantly. The rest of the evening they made pizza together and Henry started to get to know the newest addition to his family tree. They were all truly and utterly happy.

**Thank you sunshine10294 for your idea! There will be a conversation between Neal and Zelena in the next chapter or in the chapter after that. **


	21. Chapter 21

**I don't own anything. **

**Please read and review!**

When Zelena and Regina who had slept longer than usual entered the kitchen breakfast had already been made and a steaming cup of coffee was waiting for them.

"Oh, that's exactly what I need right now" Regina sighed contently. Actually it was only half true because she hadn't slept so well in months and therefore was wide awake.

"What are we going to do today?" Zelena asked right before taking a sip from her strong coffee.

"Well, as far as I remember we meet with your father at Granny's for lunch. Actually I propose that you don't eat too much it's already quite late otherwise you won't be able to eat anything later." Cora said and bit into a green apple.

"HA!" Zelena cried out effectively scaring her mother and sister. "Look Regina, she prefers green apples too!"

Regina rolled her eyes while Cora watched her younger daughter closely to see if she felt in some way offended.

"Oh mother, calm down. You can eat whatever you want-although I have to admit to my mind you made a bad choice." Cora laughed quietly and her sister shoved her playfully.

The time flew by and by midday they were having lunch at Granny's with Rumpelstiltskin. When Cora and her daughters had entered the diner quiet murmuring had spread across the room but when they had made no scene the people drew their attention back to their meals in front of them. Now Rumpel and Regina had their usual meals while Cora and Zelena who obviously did not have a usual dish tried something new.

Surprisingly there had been no open hostility towards them neither from the townspeople nor the staff at the diner. Ruby had brought them their food like she did with every other customer actually she even had asked Zelena how she was doing. Maybe that was Emma's doing. She had a positive influence on the people. A quality that Regina admired a lot in Emma.

"Regina…Regina are you alright?" Cora asked and frowned.

Regina cleared her throat. "Yes, yes I am fine. I was just thinking about someon- something." Cora and Zelena looked at each other knowingly while Rumpel looked back and forth between them without getting the clue.

Suddenly the bell at the door rang. On instinct the four of them looked at the door only to see Neal entering the diner. He went to the counter to order something to go then he saw his father sitting in a booth with three women one of them being Regina and the other one being Zelena. Only the third and oldest woman was unknown to him. He got suspicious. He hadn't talked to his father in quite some time. Somehow he'd been busy all the time.

Slowly he walked over to the four of them.

"Hello, there" He said and looked at his father questionably.

"Hello son" At those words Zelena's head shot up and her blue eyes fixed on the young man. "I think you know Regina and you also might recall Zelena and the charming lady over here is Cora, their mother."

Neal nodded slowly. "I see but what are you doing here?"

"We are having family lunch." Rumpel watched his son closely. He was not entirely sure how he would react to the unexpected news.

"Wait, family?! In what way is anyone of them family to you?" Neal asked bewildered. From all the crazy answers that he could think of that a Dark One could give this was the most unexpected.

"That is a long story to tell you might want to sit down." Rumpel suggested but Neal shook his head.

"No, I have to get back to Henry. We want to hold a Mario Kart tournament to celebrate the fact that he's regained his memories. Maybe you could break it down to a quick version."

Zelena watched the interaction between father and son closely. She hadn't seen Neal in town yet and she was very interested in this new family member. How was he? What did he like? In what way were they different or alike? And most importantly: would he accept her?

"Well, a quick version it is then. A very long time ago Cora and I have been together and Zelena actually is our child. And Regina is therefore Zelena's sibling and so are you. But Neal I suggest that when you've got some time we sit together and talk because there's a lot more to that story." Rumpel said and Neal frowned.

"Sister? She's my sister?" He glared at Zelena and she swallowed heavily. He made her feel uncomfortable which was quite a new feeling to the confident woman she was today.

"Yes, I am your sister. Do you have a problem with that?" Zelena said holding her head up high to give him her best regal impression.

"Oh no, just wondering what a great family I got there. The Dark One and now also the Wicked Witch. Great." His were almost dripping with sarcasm.

"Look, maybe the two of you could sit down and talk. You are brother and sister after all and Zelena and my start wasn't smooth either but we managed to overcome it!" Regina suggested but was immediately interrupted by Neal.

"Firstly, she's only my half-sister and secondly I am not interested." He said and grabbed his to-go-bag and left the diner. Angrily Zelena jumped to her feet and stormed after him.

"Should we interfere?" Cora asked but Rumpel only shook his head.


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't own anything. **

**Please read and review!**

Outside the diner Zelena ran after her big brother. As soon as she had caught up with him she grabbed his arm and yanked. He turned around and glared at her.

"What?!" He snarled. If looks could kill Zelena would only be tiny tile of ash on the pavement.

"What was that all about? You don't know me at all! Why do you judge me? What the heck did I ever do to you?" Zelena screamed angrily. It took her an immense amount of self-control not to hurl a spell at the man in front of her.

"Why should I want to get to know you?" He quickly returned and attempted to turn around and leave. But it was obvious that Zelena would not let that happen.

"Maybe because I am your little sister? If you don't want to get to know me, alright, but at least give me a proper reason for that because you have no reason to be angry at me! I did not hurt you in any way! What is your problem?" Zelena hissed angrily. She was oblivious to the fact that their fight attracted a lot of attention and the people around them glanced at them with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

"You want to know what my problem is? I'll tell you! My problem is that it is all nice for you but for me it is not! My father was busy all week while I was trying to contact him because I really needed someone to talk to. Now I find out that he's obviously spent all week with you! He replaced me! And now you want me to welcome you with open arms after you've taken away my father!" He screamed back and Zelena actually took a step back when Neal came closer and closer until their faces were only centimeters apart. For a minute both of them were quite. Neal's confession made quite a lot of things clear to Zelena. After all she was more than familiar with feeling jealous and being envious. Not for a second Zelena had thought about the fact that someone could be jealous of her. Her of all people. But now after having thought about this it made sense. Rumpelstiltskin had accepted her and additionally his father role quite quickly, an obvious sign for the change he'd been through. She was sure that growing up with the Dark One as a father was not easy and when Rumpel had chosen power over family it must be the same feeling as being abandoned. So although Rumpel had made Regina enact the Dark Curse and waited for 28 year only to find his son it was understandable that he was afraid of being replaced once more.

"You're jealous of me? Neal, there is nothing to be jealous about! I won't take your father away from you, you have my word." Zelena said with a calm voice.

"Your word means nothing to me, why should I believe you?" Neal retorted and took a step back.

"You should believe me because I know how you feel. After I was born my mother abandoned me and sent me to OZ where I was adopted. My adoptive mother died when I was still quite young leaving me with my father. He never trusted me after he found out that I was gifted with magic. I wasn't able to control it and he hid me away. When I found out that he actually didn't want me I left. I found out about my real family, my mother Cora and my sister Regina. You cannot imagine how jealous I was. The only thing I saw was how my mother seemed to support her and what my little sister achieved. I literally turned green of envy. But now here in this realm I found out that my sister's life was not as great as I'd always imagined. Quite the contrary actually. And I think it's the same with the two of us here. I suggest we get to know each other and our stories and if you then decide you still don't like me I'll accept that, okay?"

Neal looked at her in surprise. He totally wasn't expecting this turn of events. Zelena had opened up to him although she hardly knew him. She seemed to be honest.

"Uhm, yeah…that sounds okay, I guess."

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight? If you want I can ask my sister and mother to have dinner at Granny's or something. " Zelena suggested.

"I think it would be a good idea for all of us to have dinner together like you, me, your mother and sister, our dad and Henry. What do you think?" He asked and Zelena smiled at him. He truly seemed to like her proposal.

"Yes, I think that sounds great. Do you want to come back inside with me and eat with us?"

"No, thank you. I did not lie when I said I was having breakfast with Henry. But I look forward to dinner tonight." Neal said. Zelena nodded friendly and was just about to turn around when Neal stopped her.

"Wait, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. Thank you for, you know, not letting me destroy things between us before it even started."

"You are welcome. After all, my sister did the same for me. It is only fair that I do the same for you." Zelena answered. Then she walked back into the diner and Neal went back to his son. He truly was looking forward to dinner.

Inside the diner Zelena sat down on her spot next to her sister and started eating again. Of course she noticed her family's questioning glances but she decided to tantalize them a bit longer.

"So did you have a good talk?" Her father asked after a minute of silence. Zelena nodded.

"Yes, and he's coming over for dinner tonight. He wants to have dinner with all of us including you Rumpel, Cora, Regina and also Henry."

"Can we invite Emma as well?" Regina asked tentatively. Zelena nodded approvingly.

"That sounds great, honey" Cora said and placed a kiss on Zelena's forehead.

**The next chapter will be the last one of this story. But I am not opposed to write one-shots if there is anything you wanted to see in the story but that's missing. Just contact me ;)**


	23. Chapter 23

**I don't own anything. **

**Please read and review for one last time ;)**

The three women quickly left to prepare the unplanned dinner. In the end it was clear that Regina would do most of the cooking because she was the only one with experience in handling this realm's cooking devices. When Zelena was younger, she'd always have to cook for her father after her mother had deceased. But obviously they did not have much more than a pot over a fire. On their way to the supermarket to buy all the ingredients they would need they were trying to decide on what to make. In the end they decided to have soup as an appetizer, of course lasagna for main course with a green salad as side dish and apple turnover for dessert.

They reached the supermarket quite quickly but it took them very long to buy everything because Zelena and Regina started bickering about whether to buy green apples or take those from Regina's apple tree. Finally they agreed on making it half-half meaning that one half of the turnover would be made out of green apples and the other out of red ones.

As soon as they had reached Regina's mansion they started preparing dinner which was much more fun than expected. Cora's only task was to chop vegetables and clean the salad due to her lack of cooking skills, Zelena helped both her mother and her sisters because she had some experience with flavoring and Regina prepared the dish that she had perfected in the last twenty-nine years. Without any major incidents the lasagna and the apple turnover ended up in the oven and the three ladies went upstairs to get themselves ready for the evening.

An hour later the doorbell rang. Zelena who surprisingly was the first- and only one- being ready opened the door and greeted her father and brother. She led them to the living room. They'd brought an exquisite bottled of red wine that Zelena accepted with a smile and a thank you. Cora was the next one to come downstairs and Regina the last. Zelena helped her sister in the kitchen and Cora kept Rumpel and Neal company in the living-room.

"okay everybody, dinner's ready!" Zelena said as she entered the room. Smilingly Neal, Cora and Rumpel followed her to the dining room where Regina had already set the table. They all settled around the round table. Zelena sat right between her two siblings across from her parents. A family dinner. Of course she had dinner with her adoptive father and mother back in OZ but they never felt like family dinner. It was nothing in comparison to the feeling she was having in this moment.

"Honey, why are you smiling like a Cheshire cat?" Cora asked and tilted her head to the side.

"I am just happy to have you all here tonight." Zelena answered. Regina pulled her in a quick hug and placed a kiss on the side of her head making Zelena blush slightly.

"We are also happy to have you here." Cora answered chuckling quietly when Zelena's eyes shone happily.

They had some light conversation over dinner which by the way was excellent according to the continuous praise of their two male guests. Afterwards they moved over to the living-room again.

"So Zelena what do you intend to do now with your new life in Storybrook?" Her father asked Zelena.

"Well, I want to have a normal life with my family and a job. I don't know exactly what kind of job but I definitely need something to do. And then well, I have to apologize to Snow and Charming some others too and maybe after that I can make some friends, I don't know. We will see, this is all new to me. I never had a perspective in life or a positive goal, I mean enacting a curse to get revenge on you was not a positive goal I would say. I think everything will play out all right in the end." Zelena said and shrugged. Cora took her daughter's hand and squeezed it gently.

"And from now on you will always have a lot of people to rely on. We will help you honey, no matter what." Cora promised making Zelena smile at her gratefully.

"Yes, sis, she is right." Neal said and lifted his hand for a high five. Zelena stared at him in confusion.

"What am I supposed to do?" Regina showed her how a proper high five was done and Zelena imitated her action.

"I think dear you really should apologize to the Chramings sooner rather than later. If they accept your apology everything will be much easier for you here." Rumpel explained but Zelena shook her head.

"I don't want to apologize because it makes things easier for me but because it's the right thing to do. I wronged them and they deserve an honest apology."

Rumpel nodded proudly not doubting that her daughter's future would be great without having to use his power of foresight. She had been misguided in the past. Many people had wronged her without them ever apologizing to her and to his mind it showed the good in his child that she was able to be big and admit that she had made a mistake.

"I'm proud of you, my child." Rumpel said and caused tears to rise to his daughter's bright blue eyes. Cora nodded in agreement. "Yes, me too."

Then the older woman looked at her other daughter and even at Neal and added "We are proud of all three of you."

"Okay, everybody I want to say something cheesy too before the moment is over and it all sounds like out of a soap opera. Anyway, I want to tell my dear little sisters that I always wanted to have siblings, someone to protect when I was a child- of course back than I always imagined a little brother but that is irrelevant now. For a long time I've forgotten about this wish but now having the two of you here, yes Regina the two of you, you are my little sister's sister so that makes you mine too if you want it or not…so where was I…oh yes, now I remember this wish and I just want to tell you how good it feels to have this wish granted. I promise I'll protect and support you! So, I believe the moment is over and we should talk about something else." Neal cleared his throat and blushed at his confession.

"One moment!" Zelena said. She and Regina stood up and place a quick kiss on each of Neal's cheeks making his face even redder. Cora and Rumpel laughed wholeheartedly.

It truly was an excellent start into their happy ending.

**Okay, everybody that's it! I want to thank every single one of you reading this for sticking with me throughout the story. All your reviews have been a great inspiration for me and kept me going. I intend to write some one-shots for the Mills-family in the future so this is far from over ;)**


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